Julie Blyfield

This beautifully designed and illustrated book celebrates the life and work of Adelaide-based Julie Blyfield – one of the finest jewellers in Australia. Her innovative and creative artwork is featured in private and public collections throughout Europe and the US and, most recently, at la Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

This monograph features two essays, one by art critic and artist Stephanie Radok who has followed Julie’s career closely for the last twenty years and writes from a position of familiarity with her work and its concerns. The other essay, by curator Dick Richards, takes a more extended point of view and places Julie’s work in an historical context.

Julie Blyfield contains a gallery of more than sixty full colour pages of images of Julie’s exquisite jewellery and metalwork. It also has photographs of her methods and source materials. Blyfield is also shown at work in her studio and there is a selection of photographs that clearly explain her techniques. The book will be an inspiration to artists, craft persons, collectors, curators, educators and students.
Blyfield’s unique work is discussed in a national and international context. The book is enriched by Grant Hancock’s superb photography which captures the essence of Blyfield’s exquisitely crafted jewellery and objects. This monograph is unique in that Julie has kept meticulous records of her work from the outset of her practice and Grant Hancock, Australia’s finest photographer of craft objects, has recorded her work from the beginning.

Throughout Blyfield’s career significant touchstones and turning points associated with specific ideas, objects, events and people have influenced her designs. Her work has rich intellectual layers and she incorporates many aspects of South Australian history, including encounters with Aboriginal cultures, migration, and the archival collections of the South Australian Museum, and the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.