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Emerging Voices in Contemporary Metalsmithing: SNAG's 2025 Juried Student Exhibition

Exhibition  /  OnlineOnly  /  23 Jun 2025  -  31 Aug 2025
 
Published: 23.06.2025
Object: Opening Up by Robert Baldridge.Copper, silver.8.3 x 8.3 x 5 cmUnique piece.Lately, my work has been focused on the interplay between color, texture, and materiality, and how those ideas can often be simultaneously in harmony and at odds. While a raw oxide finish gives copper a vibrant and colorful surface, it is also unpredictable, extremely fragile, and most disappointingly, impermanent.
. In contrast to that, when silver dust is fused to the surface of copper, it creates a durable new skin that resists tarnish. I feel as though there’s something intriguing about this act of covering up, of putting on a face, of masking something that’s beneath the surface. It seems to echo the way many of us are forced to live our lives—having to carefully decide what parts of ourselves to show, and which parts we disguise.. Robert Baldridge
Object: Opening Up
Copper, silver
8.3 x 8.3 x 5 cm
Lately, my work has been focused on the interplay between color, texture, and materiality, and how those ideas can often be simultaneously in harmony and at odds. While a raw oxide finish gives copper a vibrant and colorful surface, it is also unpredictable, extremely fragile, and most disappointingly, impermanent.
In contrast to that, when silver dust is fused to the surface of copper, it creates a durable new skin that resists tarnish. I feel as though there’s something intriguing about this act of covering up, of putting on a face, of masking something that’s beneath the surface. It seems to echo the way many of us are forced to live our lives—having to carefully decide what parts of ourselves to show, and which parts we disguise.

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Intro
The SNAG is proud to present the 2025 Juried Student Exhibition, showcasing the exceptional work of emerging artists in the fields of jewelry and metalsmithing. Featuring 51 students from across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the exhibition highlights work selected through a competitive juried process.