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Indepth Arts News:
"Think Again: New Latin American Jewelry"
2010-10-12 until 2011-01-08
Museum of Art and Design
New York, NY,
USA United States of America
Think Again: New Latin American Jewelry, presented by the Museum of Arts and Design from October 12, 2010 through January 8, 2011, will feature the latest trends and movements through works by 50 jewelry makers, representing some 23 Latin American countries. Among the artists included are the Brazilians Mirla Fernandes, Dionea Rocha Watt, and Claudia Cucchi; Valentina Rosenthal from Chile; the Argentinians Elisa Gulminelli, Francisca Kweitel, and Silvina Romero; Jorge Manilla and Eduardo Graue from Mexico; and Miguel Luciano from Puerto Rico.
IMAGE
Soft Black and White
María Constanza Ochoa
2008
The show has been guest-curated by the Netherlands-based, Mexican-born architect Valeria Vallarta Siemelink, who is also the president of the Otro Diseño Foundation for Cultural Cooperation and Development, which organized the show.
Objects of adornment have played a significant cultural role throughout Latin America’s history, from the spiritually potent jewelry of the pre-Columbians to the eye-catching ornaments worn by Mexican drug gangs to advertise their status and menace. Now a new generation of jewelry makers working outside the field’s conventions are examining how this complex relationship with physical adornment evolved--and why.
“The new Latin American jewelry must be appreciated for what it is. One shouldn’t impose stereotypes or resort to clichés,” says guest curator Valeria Vallarta Siemelink. “Far from being an imported concept from the West, jewelry-as-art in Latin America is very much a product of the region’s history and its diverse and dynamic modern societies.”
“This is a very special show,” adds Ursula Neuman, MAD’s jewelry curator. “This jewelry is virtually unknown in the United States. The artists’ realize their sophisticated concepts
through intriguing choices of materials and techniques, creating unique works that present a fascinating amalgam of indigenous cultural elements and the latest trends in international
contemporary jewelry design.”
To bring clarity to Latin America’s complex culture and history, the exhibition is organized around three themes, addressing the region’s past, its unique fusion of ethnic influences, and its everchanging socio-political realities.
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