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

Exhibition / OnlineOnly / 23 Jun 2025 - 31 Aug 2025

Published: 23.06.2025

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

SNAG Metalsmith

: PO Box 1355
OR 97440 - Eugene
UNITED STATES

: Website SNAG Metalsmith; Instagram SNAG Metalsmith; FB SNAG Metalsmith; YouTube SNAG Metalsmith

Mail:: infosnagmetalsmith.org

Phone:: 1 541 345 5689

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..

Brooch: Fragile Bodies 1 by Hannah Reynoso Toussaint .Glass, brass, reclaimed freshwater pearls, silver, vintage postcard, plastic film, silk thread.3.8 x 20.3 x 3.8 cm.From series: Fragile BodiesUnique piece.My practice is a dynamic exploration of identity, ancestral wisdom, and the liminal spaces between worlds. As a metalsmith and glass artist specializing in jewelry, I draw from my nepantla heritage—being queer and Mexican—and weave together Indigenous Mexican knowledge, scrying traditions, and an ethic of care for human and nonhuman entities to inspire my practice. Through this body of work, I seek to make visible the unseen forces that shape our realities and to create objects that serve as conduits for reflection, protection, and connection..

Object: Put Your Trust in God, Baby by Alissa Goble.Copper, brass, embroidery thread, powder coat, fabric. 2025.15.2 x 15.2 x 4.4 cmUnique piece.As a child, I remember my sister and I hanging our drawings on my grandma’s refrigerator door. Over time, it transformed from a functional appliance into a visualization of love, family, memory, and connection. Nothing was ever taken down, only added. Through my process, I aim to delve deeper into photographed moments by expanding their narrative, preserving, and layering them. I combine delicate materials such as thread, fabric, and crochet with durable metals to blur the boundaries between the fading and the permanent. My grandma taught me the value of time spent. I watched her pour love, care, and patience into every cake baked and seam sewn. Each crochet stitch allows me to reflect, pause, and transform fleeting moments into permanent mementos. My work is a homage to my family and a way to capture and hold my most valued moments and memories. I aim to explore how narrative shapes identity and what parts of memory fade or endure..

Object: All That I Said by Ezekiel Martey.Copper, jute. 2025.59.7 x 247.6 cmUnique piece.As someone who has experienced migration, I have come to understand that the journey begins before departure occurs. It starts with emails and online application forms typed and submitted into systems. My work delves into the quiet space where effort meets silence. I use traditional material like copper with other materials, including jute and found objects, to trace the emotional weight of speaking, explaining into systems that are not always prepared to respond.
. .

Object: Box Pouch by Weiwei Li.Titanium, Sterling silver. 2025.9 x 4 x 14 cmUnique piece.My work explores the transformation of two-dimensional patterns into three-dimensional forms through material experimentation. By cutting, folding, bending, and reshaping, I investigate how flat surfaces evolve into complex structures—embracing both control and unpredictability. This shift from flatness to dimensionality echoes the quiet transformations that shape growth and adaptation.
.
. I begin with toys I played with in childhood, reimagining them by exploring the structural possibilities embedded in patterned forms. Through this process, familiar objects transcend their original function, taking on unfamiliar and poetic forms that invite reinterpretation.
.
. Ultimately, my work seeks to evoke a sense of remembering—an experience shaped by individual memory and emotion. As viewers engage with these shifting forms and moments of play, they are encouraged to reflect on their own associations, bridging the past with the present in a quiet act of personal connection.
. .

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.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

Hannah Reynoso Toussaint 
Brooch: Fragile Bodies 1
Glass, brass, reclaimed freshwater pearls, silver, vintage postcard, plastic film, silk thread
3.8 x 20.3 x 3.8 cm
From series: Fragile Bodies
My practice is a dynamic exploration of identity, ancestral wisdom, and the liminal spaces between worlds. As a metalsmith and glass artist specializing in jewelry, I draw from my nepantla heritage—being queer and Mexican—and weave together Indigenous Mexican knowledge, scrying traditions, and an ethic of care for human and nonhuman entities to inspire my practice. Through this body of work, I seek to make visible the unseen forces that shape our realities and to create objects that serve as conduits for reflection, protection, and connection.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

Alissa Goble
Object: Put Your Trust in God, Baby, 2025
Copper, brass, embroidery thread, powder coat, fabric
15.2 x 15.2 x 4.4 cm
As a child, I remember my sister and I hanging our drawings on my grandma’s refrigerator door. Over time, it transformed from a functional appliance into a visualization of love, family, memory, and connection. Nothing was ever taken down, only added. Through my process, I aim to delve deeper into photographed moments by expanding their narrative, preserving, and layering them. I combine delicate materials such as thread, fabric, and crochet with durable metals to blur the boundaries between the fading and the permanent. My grandma taught me the value of time spent. I watched her pour love, care, and patience into every cake baked and seam sewn. Each crochet stitch allows me to reflect, pause, and transform fleeting moments into permanent mementos. My work is a homage to my family and a way to capture and hold my most valued moments and memories. I aim to explore how narrative shapes identity and what parts of memory fade or endure.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

Ezekiel Martey
Object: All That I Said, 2025
Copper, jute
59.7 x 247.6 cm
As someone who has experienced migration, I have come to understand that the journey begins before departure occurs. It starts with emails and online application forms typed and submitted into systems. My work delves into the quiet space where effort meets silence. I use traditional material like copper with other materials, including jute and found objects, to trace the emotional weight of speaking, explaining into systems that are not always prepared to respond.

© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

Weiwei Li
Object: Box Pouch, 2025
Titanium, Sterling silver
9 x 4 x 14 cm
My work explores the transformation of two-dimensional patterns into three-dimensional forms through material experimentation. By cutting, folding, bending, and reshaping, I investigate how flat surfaces evolve into complex structures—embracing both control and unpredictability. This shift from flatness to dimensionality echoes the quiet transformations that shape growth and adaptation.

I begin with toys I played with in childhood, reimagining them by exploring the structural possibilities embedded in patterned forms. Through this process, familiar objects transcend their original function, taking on unfamiliar and poetic forms that invite reinterpretation.

Ultimately, my work seeks to evoke a sense of remembering—an experience shaped by individual memory and emotion. As viewers engage with these shifting forms and moments of play, they are encouraged to reflect on their own associations, bridging the past with the present in a quiet act of personal connection.

© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

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.

Artist list

Luisa Arroyo, Robert Baldridge, Mikayla Boehm, Melina Castro, Cindy Cheng, Ashley Choe, Sydney Davidson, Posy DiPaolo, Coli Drechsel, Karen Dreher, Flor Fabela, Yuqi Fan, Vivian Gao, C. Hayden Girling, Alissa Goble, Jose David Gomez Romero, Gabriela Gracia Mariscal, Precious Gyekye, Rex Herlin, Eunice Hong, Margot Hulme, Farah Kathrada, Gracie Klingbeil, Boneger Kwarteng, Weiwei Li, Xiaoduo Jessica Li, Ezekiel Martey, Katherine McHugh, Larissa McPherson, Matthew Nuzzolo, Freeman Osabutey, Laura Papworth, Adri Pritchard, Hannah Reynoso Toussaint, Karen Rios-Enriquez, S. Sanchez, Nasla Santillan Lara, Wren Schulz, Margaret Schupp, Elee Sharp, Soph Shufelt, Mason Skeets, Sarah Stewart Vasquez, Madeleine Stoffel, Eden Tighe, Bryce Wall, Sol Waterman, Xiaohan Wu, Ziqi Yuan, Jonathon Zalakos, Naomi Zamir

The pieces on view represent a wide range of techniques and conceptual approaches, from traditional metalwork to experimental and mixed media. The exhibition explores how students are challenging conventions and redefining the future of craft. From intimate narrative brooches to bold sculptural forms, the selected works reflect a diversity of voices and a deep engagement with material, process, and meaning. Jurors J Taran Diamond and Masako Onodera—respected artists and educators in the field—reviewed hundreds of submissions to curate a show that is both technically rigorous and thematically resonant.

The SNAG student exhibition has actually been my favorite exhibition in the field because I can see what the field is directing or what the field is wanting, says juror Masako Onodera.

For more than 25 years the Juried Student Exhibition has been a cornerstone of SNAG’s mission to support emerging talent and foster critical dialogue in the jewelry and metalsmithing community. Open internationally, any student enrolled in any educational program including college, university, technical college, community college, non-traditional school, community arts, cultural center or non-profit or working through apprenticeship/assistantship paths is invited to apply.

On view: now – August 31, 2025.
Location: view virtual exhibition
Reception recording: 2025 SNAG Juried Student Exhibition Virtual Reception

Best in Show: Hannah Reynoso Toussaint, Robert Baldridge
Honorable Mentions: Alissa Goble, Ezekiel Martey, Weiwei Li

About SNAG
SNAG is an international non-profit organization committed to advancing jewelry and metalsmithing by inspiring creativity, encouraging education, and fostering community. Founded in 1969 as The Society of North American Goldsmiths, the organization has evolved to include and promote diverse expressions of jewelry, adornment, body-related objects, sculpture, and installation. SNAG publishes Metalsmith magazine; facilitates in-person and virtual conferences, events, and exhibitions; provides scholarships for educational advancement; and more.

SNAG Metalsmith

: PO Box 1355
OR 97440 - Eugene
UNITED STATES

: Website SNAG Metalsmith; Instagram SNAG Metalsmith; FB SNAG Metalsmith; YouTube SNAG Metalsmith

Mail:: infosnagmetalsmith.org

Phone:: 1 541 345 5689

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

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Von der Sprache der Steine at Villa Bengel

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