American Jewelry Design Council Celebrates 25 years of Design
With Exhibition at the Forbes Galleries
Opening September 21st, 2013 the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC)will showcase 25 years of outstanding jewelry design at the prestigious Forbes Galleries in New York. The exhibition, “Variations on a Theme: 25 Years of Design from the AJDC”, is open to the public and will dazzle museum visitors with works from over 40 AJDC members through February 22nd, 2014.
On view at the Forbes gallery will be a selection of works from various annual AJDC Design Projects from the very first theme, in 1996 to the most recent, in 2013. Annually, the council asks each of its members to create a design project, interpreting a single concept or theme; the final product is a collection of unique jewelry pieces joined by a solitary concept. Past themes include simple conceptual elements such as “Water”, “Spiral”, “Ice”, and “Flight” imagined into breathtaking masterpieces made of precious metals, gemstones and unexpected materials.
Artists exhibiting in “Variations on a Theme: 25 Years of Design from the AJDC” include:
Sandy Baker Michael Bondanza Falcher Fusager Michael Good Ron Hartgrove Jose Hess Scott Keating Steven Kretchmer Linda MacNeil Adam Neeley Paul Robilotti Susan Sadler William Schraft Barbara Westwood | Jane Bohan Petra Class Geoffrey Giles Sarah Graham Barbara Heinrich Cornelis Hollander Christo Kiffer Pascal Lacroix Gregory Morin Mark Patterson Todd Reed George Sawyer Tina Segal | Whitney Boin Jaclyn Davidson Cornelia Goldsmith Alishan Halebian Susan Helmich John Iversen Paul Klecka Anthony Lent Jennifer Rabe Morin Kent Raible Alan Revere Mark Schneider Diana Vincent |
"The jewelry pieces shown at the Forbes exhibition have been created over time for the sole purpose of exhibiting creativity, originality and excellence in design,” says Barbara Heinrich, President of the AJDC. “They are purposely noncommercial but rather inspirational in nature, created by some of the foremost American jewelry designers alive. Due to the unique nature and concept of the show, it is sure to excite and inspire its audience."
Since its establishment in 1988, the AJDC has worked to educate and promote the awareness of jewelry as an art form. Members of the American Jewelry Design Council are dedicated to elevating the caliber of jewelry design through educational activities and to challenging professional jewelry designers worldwide to actualize their creative potential. This year’s theme “Wave” delivered awe inspiring works of art which were debuted at the JCK Jewelry Show in Las Vegas this past June.
About the AJDC
Formed in 1988 by a group of American designers, The American Jewelry Design Council is a non-profit educational corporation, which recognizes and promotes the appreciation of original jewelry design as art. Up until this time, much of the industry still felt that only European designers knew how to design original jewelry. Although American designers had not followed the same schooling and classic apprenticeship as the European tradition demanded, many were self-taught creating brilliant, original designs that went unrecognized. Founding members include: Whitney Boin, Michael Bondanza, Henry Dunay, Michael Good, Ron Hartgrove, Jose Hess, Cornelis Hollander, and Pascal Lacroix.