Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
Exhibition
/
28 Jan 2023
-
25 Feb 2023
Published: 23.01.2023
Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h
- Mail:
- info
galerienoelguyomarch.com
- Phone:
- (514) 840-9362
- Curator:
- Melanie Egan
- Management:
- Noel Guyomarc'h

Premiered last fall in Toronto at Harbourfront Centre, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, curated by Melanie Egan, is part of Nordic Spotlights, a series of unique experiences highlighting contemporary northern arts and culture. This exhibition brings together artists from Canada, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sápmi, Sweden and Denmark.
Artist list
Bridget Catchpole, Annette Dam, Helena Johansson Lindell, Alex Kinsley Vey, Matt Lambert, Tania Larsson, Helga Mogensen, Ánne Sara Máret, Anna Rikkinen, Catherine Sheedy, Despo Sophocleous
Jewellery is one of the oldest cultural identifiers. Over 120,000 years ago, prehistoric humans engaged in 'aesthetic curiosity' (Smith 1974), adorning their bodies with shell necklaces. This human activity has endured for millennia.
Contemporary jewellery is a term widely used since the 1960s and much like contemporary art; it expands our view of society, culture, the world at large and ourselves. It differentiates itself from other craft practices because it has never been limited to one material, it can be animal, vegetable or mineral thus opening up many possibilities. Jewellery is significant for its direct associations with bodies, its ability to convey ideas at an intimate level and its movement through space and time.
Running counter to widely held ideas about what constitutes 'fine jewellery' and what represents value, these artists embrace debris and detritus; the desecrated bones of a political decision; the overlooked and undervalued; the hidden consequences; the reclaimed, restored and memorialized. Through the catalyst of contemporary jewellery, artists use materials redolent with meaning and the body as a site to confront issues of identity, social critique, and political change.
The curator of the exhibition, Melanie Egan, has over 35 years of experience in the field of craft and design. She is the director of Craft & Design at Harbourfront Centre: Canada’s foremost artist-in-residency devoted to ceramics, glass, textiles, jewellery and design. She is a curator, organizes symposia, lectures, writes, mentors and advocates for craft & design in Canada and internationally.
Contemporary jewellery is a term widely used since the 1960s and much like contemporary art; it expands our view of society, culture, the world at large and ourselves. It differentiates itself from other craft practices because it has never been limited to one material, it can be animal, vegetable or mineral thus opening up many possibilities. Jewellery is significant for its direct associations with bodies, its ability to convey ideas at an intimate level and its movement through space and time.
Running counter to widely held ideas about what constitutes 'fine jewellery' and what represents value, these artists embrace debris and detritus; the desecrated bones of a political decision; the overlooked and undervalued; the hidden consequences; the reclaimed, restored and memorialized. Through the catalyst of contemporary jewellery, artists use materials redolent with meaning and the body as a site to confront issues of identity, social critique, and political change.
The curator of the exhibition, Melanie Egan, has over 35 years of experience in the field of craft and design. She is the director of Craft & Design at Harbourfront Centre: Canada’s foremost artist-in-residency devoted to ceramics, glass, textiles, jewellery and design. She is a curator, organizes symposia, lectures, writes, mentors and advocates for craft & design in Canada and internationally.
Ring: 28 Million Years AHS, 2022
14K gold, amber, rhodochrosite, plastic, resin.
4.5x 3 x 2 cm
Photo by: Dorte Krogh
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Brooch: S'amalgamer au Paysage 6, 2019
Sturgeon bone, coal, acrylic resin, plastic, sterling silver.
38 x 21 x 5 cm
Photo by: Jérome Bourque
From series: S'amalgamer au Paysage
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Pendant: Echoes, 2020
Cherry, ash, walnut, graphite, ink, cotton.
Selected as Finalists in LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020. Category: Jewellery.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Necklace: Marion I, 2022
Plastic, cotton yarn and aluminium.
81 x 14 x 2 cm
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Brooch: Good Times, 2022
Laser etched steel, sterling silver, 23k gold leaf.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Neckpiece: Grandmother’s Flower, 2022
Traditional tanned moose hide backed with caribou hide, vintage European beads, natural yellow diamond beads, hand dyed caribou hair, sterling silver chain.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h
- Mail:
- info
galerienoelguyomarch.com
- Phone:
- (514) 840-9362
- Curator:
- Melanie Egan
- Management:
- Noel Guyomarc'h
-
Gone Astray. Jewellery and Utensils on the Fringe of Reason in Contemporary Gold and Silversmithing
06Oct2023 - 11Feb2024
Pforzheim Jewellery Museum
Pforzheim, Germany -
Of the Passion for Travelling and Collecting. Treasures of the Jewellery Enthusiasts Eva and Peter Herion
12May2023 - 10Sep2023
Pforzheim Jewellery Museum
Pforzheim, Germany -
Exempla 2023
08Mar2023 - 12Mar2023
Internationale Handwerkmesse Munich
Munich, Germany -
Influences: Echoes of the Earth
08Mar2023 - 11Mar2023
Galerie Benjamin Eck II
Munich, Germany -
Annamaria Zanella as Classic of Modernism: Artist Retrospective at Schmuck 2023
08Mar2023 - 12Mar2023
Internationale Handwerkmesse Munich
Munich, Germany -
Mit Eigensinn, Schmuck aus Österreich. Künstlerinnen im Fokus
23Feb2023 - 02Jul2023
GfG
Hanau, Germany -
Liquid Wood by Joe Hyung Park
10Feb2023 - 18Mar2023
Four Gallery
Gothenburg, Sweden -
Tune In by Kim Buck
09Feb2023 - 02Mar2023
Platina
Stockholm, Sweden -
Human-Nature
09Feb2023 - 04Mar2023
The Finnish Jewellery Art Association
Lappeenranta, Finland -
Super Charged - Hopes and Protections on the Body
02Feb2023 - 04Feb2023
Four Gallery
Gothenburg, Sweden -
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
28Jan2023 - 25Feb2023
Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h
Montreal, Canada -
Meeting Point by Nikolay Sardamov
27Jan2023 - 10Feb2023
Testa Gallery
Sofia, Bulgaria -
Après Ski x 2 by Haldis Scheicher, Felix Malnig and Roland Ferrigato
26Jan2023 - 04Mar2023
T/abor
Gallery V&V
Vienna, Austria -
Still Garden by Wiebke Pandikow
26Jan2023 - 26Feb2023
GAo ShAn gallery
Helsinki, Finland -
Networked by Ulrike Isensee
20Jan2023 - 25Feb2023
Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein
Munich, Germany