New Works by Claire Kahn

Artist list

Claire Kahn

A Claire Kahn necklace is more than jewelry. It's an experience and a work of art. It's tactile and supple. Kahn is passionate, uncompromising and she possesses a bold sense of pure design. Patina Gallery is thrilled to be Kahn's exclusive global representative and has been exhibiting her work for more than half a decade.
 
Kahn begins making her jewelry by assembling delicate Japanese glass Miyuki beads in very precise order onto a single skein that can sometimes measure five feet long. And then, using the tiniest of hooks, she begins to crochet. So complex are the patterns and her craftsmanship so exacting that it takes a full day to make just a few inches. Of late, she has been incorporating even more exotic and elaborate elements into her pieces.
    
"A mathematical beauty informs my crochet bead works, which is a series of numbers that fall into place," Kahn said of her process. "When the numbers are elegant, I know it will be beautiful," she said.
 
Kahn has been designing and making jewelry since 2004, using an extensive range of materials from glass, to stone, to fiber and metal. Seed beads and gemstones are often combined to construct a larger mosaic. The linear character of the string lends itself to transition, and the variety of color and texture offers the opportunity to create endless patterns and progressions. The beads are flexible, allowing the wearer to double, triple, tie and wrap the individual piece in unique and interesting ways. Portions of a given piece can be worn to emphasize an unusual design passage.
 
Kahn, who earned a degree in design from Stanford University, is an artist with a spectacular design vocabulary.  She believes that creativity need not be limited to a single focus. Claire Kahn is a "renaissance" artist in the true sense of the word.