The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York City will be presenting a one-of-a-kind pop-up jewelry exhibit and sale. LOOT: MAD About Jewelry showcases a cross-section of cutting-edge, hand-crafted contemporary jewelry. Visitors will have a rare opportunity to meet and acquire pieces directly from the artisans. Most of these talented designers have never shown their work before in the United States.
MAD debuts jewelry as an art form
LOOT Curator, Bryna Pomp said they would be introducing 54 emerging artists from 21 countries to the New York City community.
These innovative designers work from a plethora of materials, including silver, recycled plastic, broken plates, skateboards, pearls, and marble, among others.
Artists offer unique inspirations
We caught up with Aino Faven from Finland, who says she found inspiration from all the plastic garbage in our oceans and landfills. “So much of our waste today is of plastic. So I decided to recycle these materials and transform them into something magical, soft, translucent and durable.” Her designs pay tribute to birds and other wildlife who have died from eating our plastic waste.
Other innovative designers include Tara Locklear and Ute Van Der Plaats. Locklear says her collection was created from recycled skateboards paired with handmade sterling silver designs.
“I like pieces that empower individuality, and I like to help people engage and have meaningful conversations.” Her colorful, bold pieces are definitely fun, wearable and conversational.
Belgium designer Ute Van Der Plaats’ bone china porcelain creations are very much like her personality. “This divine material is stubborn to work with and perfectly fits my own character.”
She integrates her passion for graphic design by incorporating 3D-printing and digitally designed images into her handcrafted porcelain jewelry.
Blasting News asked what kind of women wear her big, boldfaced looks. “Someone with balls, because when you walk into a room wearing one of my necklaces, everyone will look at you. Also, they will admire the craftsmanship.” Her latest collection for MAD took over eight months to create.
MAD is the only American museum with a gallery dedicated to the display of both temporary jewelry exhibits, and its own collection of permanent, contemporary, and modern studio and art jewelry.
