Donald Friedlich
Published: 11.01.2024
Donald Friedlich
- Mail:
- dfriedlich
aol.com
Statement
For many years, my work has highlighted qualities unique to jewelry as a medium, particularly the fact that jewelry, when worn, is viewed in motion. My Lumina Series brooches and necklaces comment on this movement by appearing to shift dramatically in color when viewed at different angles.The pieces also play with qualities inherent to both glass and polished gems such as the color changes of an alexandrite or chatoyance of a star sapphire. Even in modest ambient light, they sparkle and appear lit from within. Most of these designs are composed of two layers of glass. The back one reflects a color and the front one is simultaneously reflective and translucent. Many different colors result from the optical interface of the layers, but usually two colors dominate. This luminescence is due to thin coatings of vaporized quartz and metallic oxides bonded to the surface of the glass in a vacuum chamber, a process originally developed by the aerospace industry. Regrettably, these dynamic optical effects at the center of my current work are impossible to fully convey in a single still photograph (see the Lumina Series page of my website, DonaldFriedlich.com for videos). Accordingly, my images show two or four different views of the same design shot from different angles to demonstrate the way they transform with movement.
While these works are volumetric, I’ve fabricated them hollow, so they are light and easily wearable. The glass has been shaped in a kiln and then carefully ground and shaped with diamond abrasives. Finally, they’re assembled with the use of advanced UV cured adhesives.
While there is a great deal of technical design in my Lumina Series jewelry, this work also captures my artistic inspirations. They evoke sunlight reflected by the moon and, at times, diffused by fog or cloud cover and speak to the influence the color field paintings of Mark Rothko and the light sculptures of James Turrell and Dan Flavin have had on me.
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Donald Friedlich
- Mail:
- dfriedlichaol.com
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