Kim Victoria Wearne ‘Volcanic Opulence’ @ Pieces of Eight

Another lovely jewellery exhibition at Pieces of Eight… Kim Victoria Wearne‘s ‘Volcanic Opulence‘.

The pieces here are mostly precious metals and stones … and eminently desirable!

photograph taken with gallery permission

I’ve been reading Kim’s blog for some time now, and particularly like her approach to rings – her chosen shapes and textures.

Given my recent experience with opals – the ‘dag’ of the jewellery world – I feel even better placed than before to appreciate the opal rings in this exhibition … they’re a wonderful modern (sorry, I don’t usually like that word) take on the stone and I think they’re beautiful.

photograph taken with gallery permission

Exhibition media: “I am exploring the idea of the volcano: not as a destructive force, but rather as a romanticized metaphor for potential. The volcano is a beautiful and mysterious geographical mass that is eventually unable to contain its glittering and molten interior. It explodes and projects forth a resplendent shower of passionate, fiery beauty that overwhelms all in its path.“

Kim has also shared some images of the work in this exhibition on her blog – it’s worth your time to have a look!

Kim Victoria Wearne’s ‘Volcanic Opulence‘ is at Pieces of Eight until 6th October 2012.

Peta Kruger ‘This Fool’s Gold’ @ Pieces of Eight

I first developed a bit of a jewellery-crush on Peta Kruger‘s work on a Sydney trip a few years ago.
Her current exhibition ‘This Fool’s Gold‘ is in the windows of Pieces of Eight.
It’s totally gorgeous – playful and colourful and joyous.

photograph taken with gallery permission

If only I’d got to the exhibition sooner, perhaps I could have taken home the absolutely adorable painted container in the top-middle of the above image.

Exhibition media: “Her new work, created exclusively for this exhibition, comprises entirely of painted brass works, demonstrating a continued link between her practice as an illustrator and jeweller. These wearable works are lively, and informed by her much loved jewellery collection from childhood.“

photograph taken with gallery permission

The central neckpiece is fabulous. For me, the neckpieces and painted objects were the standouts.

And painted cut crystal/glassware – why didn’t I think of that! Genius. Love it.

Make sure you spend a little time looking at her website, so much to like.

Peta Kruger’s ‘This Fool’s Gold‘ is at Pieces of Eight until 6th October 2012.

Why so sad?

Today is the last day for David Neale’s ‘Love Letters‘ at Pieces of Eight … and I’m not going to make it. That’s why I’m sad. Very sad. Seriously.

I greatly admire David’s work – his approach, his humour, his interest in traditional making, how restrictions have inspired him to create adaptations, and his writings.

So I’m incredibly sad I cannot get along to see his ‘Love Letters‘ exhibition in its collected glory. His writing about the exhibition (below) is touching and I completely understand it… and I want to go (*stamping feet*).

Thankfully David has been generously sharing images and posts about his work on his blog – how ridiculously adorable is the pea-pod pendant?! I hope he shares more of the pieces in the exhibition, so I can vicariously pretend I actually saw it in person… pretty please David…

exhibition media; click on image for original source

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Exhibition media: “David Neale explores the idea of jewellery as a conveyor of love. With love being so lofty, and jewellery being so material, Neale tries to navigate pitfalls common jewellery such as superficiality, bombast, vanity, and the design challenge that jewellery needs to be partly “empty” to allow givers and wearers to bestow their own meaning to it.“

“A good question for the goldsmith is:

What does jewellery do?

It is very often sent as gift to say “I love you”- like a three-dimensional love letter.
So the next question for the goldsmith is one of design;

How can I make jewellery that is ready for this mission?

True, this will come down to typical decisions about materials and shapes and ergonomics, but in this quest the goldsmith must seek, above all, to imbue the attributes of generosity and dignity, eloquence and concision- and perhaps most elusively; some sort of draught; a capacity to carry love’s message, without forgetting it, without talking over the top of it, not crushing it- but holding and delivering it at the same time- for as long as possible.

David Neale 2012“

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‘Cosmic Artefacts’ @ Pieces of Eight

What better way to spend a sunny Saturday than wandering the streets of our beautiful city?

My planned route included a saunter past Pieces of Eight to see ‘Cosmic Artefacts’ (part of LMFF12 [link]).

installation

Exhibition media: “Pieces of Eight Gallery presents fashion designer Alexi Freeman and jeweller Tessa Blazey, collaborating on a major window installation and a suite of jewellery pieces that accompany the ALEXI FREEMAN AW12 ROCK STAR collection. The installation features their Interstellar Gown, constructed from approximately 600 metres of gold plated chain and 6000 jump rings meticulously embellished into a galactic flapper formation – fit for a sci-fi goddess to traverse the celestial sphere“.

In the top left is the Intersellar Gown [see their blog story for more information].
In the top right is the Relic Gown [see their blog story for more information and images].
In the bottom left are jewellery pieces in the style of the Interstellar Gown.
In the bottom right are jewellery pieces to match the Relic Gown.

‘Cosmic Artefacts‘ is at Pieces of Eight until 7th April 2012.

Correction & Apology: Edition X

CORRECTION & APOLOGY

I have made a terrible mistake in my previous post …

My understanding about artists committing on the basis of a city location was incorrect, and therefore misleading and disrespectful to the gallery.

My sincere apologies to Edition X and Pieces of Eight, and especially Melanie who has been very supportive of my blog.

I have corrected my original post; and take it as a lesson to ensure I do not misinterpret such important things in the future.

Sincere apologies again.
Make sure you tell all your friends that I was wrong and give them the right story.

Pieces of Eight: Edition X

A caveat up front: I have no financial connection to Pieces of Eight (other than buying pieces from them!) and this isn’t an advertisement …. but I think it’s a fantastic initiative that should be mentioned here (of all places!).

Pieces of Eight Gallery have launched an online retail space: Edition X.

media image

Launch media (from here):
“Edition X is unique, bringing you completely exclusive commissioned works from a variety of artists and makers from around the globe with all collections made in very limited set editions.
…
With a showroom in North Fitzroy, the former home of Pieces of Eight Gallery, and an online store open 24/7, we’re always ready to share our evolving collections with you. The best thing about Edition X is our focus on presenting the ‘affordable collectable’. It’s the place to scope out very special pieces that simply aren’t available anywhere else, all without breaking the bank!“

I mentioned this in my previous ‘Melbourne jewellers and galleries’ series of posts recently. In the above text you’ll notice the ‘exclusivity’ mention, which I do understand to be in relation to the “affordable collectable” limited-edition collections – that is, artists are still free to stock other collections elsewhere.

The site is good – I especially like the artist page. The graphic design is very strong too.

The former gallery space in North Fitzroy is the physical accompaniment to the online store – a good idea to have an in-person place to go.

It’s my understanding is that the physical space was actually originally planned to be near the formal Pieces of Eight Gallery in Russell Place in the city. Further, I understand that artists made their initial decision to commit to the project on this basis … so the change of location would likely have been quite disappointing for those hoping their work would have inner-city walk-by exposure and the strength of the main gallery presence too (which the St Georges Rd location certainly doesn’t have).
Update (14th November): this is incorrect; please refer to my correction and apology post.

I think it’s absolutely fabulous that there is a gallery willing to explore this new retail reality … more people are expecting to shop online than ever before, and that’s unlikely to change.  Without disrespect to any other of our gorgeous Melbourne jewellery galleries, it is of no surprise to me that Pieces of Eight would be the first to engage in this way … their approach to their blog and innovative exhibition design (with accompanying artworks – sound, film and installation) has demonstrated a committment to exploring the possibilities.

A couple of bloggers have written already about their work for Edition X:

• Lucy Hearn – her pieces with black are only available here (which is a good example of the exclusivity arrangement)
• Kim Victoria Wearne

I hope it goes well!
I wonder whether other galleries will look to make a similar move??

Melbourne jewellery galleries and artists: part 2

PART 1 yesterday———————————————————————

PART 2 ——————————————————————————–

It’s actually been two weeks since I wrote the first section of this post (part 1), and I’ve since received responses from many of the galleries I contacted.

The question I asked was pretty simple (as I know gallery staff have way more important and interesting things to do than spend time on my emails). And I offer them my sincere thanks for answering me.

Does ***gallery*** have a standard policy for their artist relationships?
(i) exclusive within Melbourne and/or Victoria; or
(ii) an exclusive range or collection, with the artist free to have other work at other galleries / online store / private commissions; or
(iii) no exclusive requirements; or
(iv) something else / combination / depends on the artist.

My summary of the responses is below (with general comments underneath):

• Alice Euphemia – “rarely requests” exclusivity (as the “handmade nature of the work we have stocked usually limits the production and creates uniqueness and ‘exclusivity’ anyway“)
• e.g.etal – do not ask their artists to be exclusive as one of their “founding principles was, and still is, to support artists to make a living from their work“; though they do recommend stocking different ranges / collections at different outlets; and they do requests of their artists that prices are consistent if sold through other galleries / outlets (Emma was very generous in her reply)
• Gallery Funaki – traditionally an exclusive requirement within Victoria, and still to a large extent on a case-by-case basis (Katie sent me a wonderful reply too)
• Lord Coconut – no exclusivity; though request for consistent pricing if the pieces are sold elsewhere
• Pieces of Eight – the lovely ladies at Po8 are super-busy on their work in developing Edition X; an online shop for a selection of artists – which implicitly speaks volumes about their vision of the future of the contemporary jewellery space (will write about this soon! and I’ll update this post when I receive their response)
• Small Space – if possible, a different range / collection from other outlets (though the majority of the work stocked here is Robyn’s); Robyn made an important point I totally understand and can agree with: “to ask a contemporary jeweller to stock exclusively to just one gallery in Melbourne is not a feasible option when making a living from the handmade and the contemporary can be so difficult.” (Robyn was also very generous with her reply to my email)

To add to the above, some of the main points made in the replies included:

• Some of the galleries have commented that the inclusion of cast elements may impact the possibility of non-exclusivity (and therefore requests may change in the future).
• Also, many galleries do ask for artists to be considerate and respectful when managing private commissions, with many requesting (one with a specific policy on the matter) a customer to be referred back to the gallery where that customer has used the gallery to effectively ‘shop for’ a jeweller and then approached the maker directly (a practice I wondered about in my previous post).
• Further, there is consensus that the artist-run online retail-space (like bigcartel platform) is a bit blurry; its increased prevalence and popularity may introduce the need to review such agreements (or at least make explicit considerations of such) in the near future.
• Finally, galleries are usually founded by people who make and/or support makers, so they are very respectful. Many do take a great deal of care in developing excellent relationships with their artists, through which any of these kinds of matters can generally be managed as they arise.

My sincere thanks to the gallery people who have been so generous in replying to my emails and sharing their practice with me.

I will watch in interest in the coming years as the online economy moves and changes the retail environment – and I hope that galleries can still survive, in fact thrive, in the new market.

….