Showcasing new work from 18 contemporary jewellers including:
Jane Adam, An Alleweireldt, Malcolm Appleby, Michael Becker, Elizabeth Jane Campbell, Grace Girvan, Lucie Gledhill, Simon Harrison, Dominika Kupcova, Ruth Leslie, Ann Little, Jenny Llewelyn, Christa Lühtje, Heather McDermott, Sheila McDonald, Grainne Morton, Kathie Murphy, Joanne Thompson
Jane Adam is a leading British contemporary jeweller, who has an international reputation for her work in aluminium, a field in which she revolutionised contemporary practice and gained many significant awards. Her work in fine metals is gaining her even greater recognition.
‘I experiment with materials to explore their inherent qualities. Rather than imposing my own preconceptions upon them, I then set out conditions in which they will behave in a certain way. This approach gives my work a quality that relates to natural forms and to the way they change and grow. I aim to create pieces that extend traditional jewellery values: beauty, femininity and preciousness. My work explores female sensuality, both in the nature of the forms themselves and in the way they feel when worn. By becoming part of the wearer’s experience and expression of her self, my jewellery is transformed and completed.’ – Jane Adam, 2016.
Public collections include: The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Jane Adam was the subject of solo exhibitions: Beyond The Surface during the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2013, and Duality in May 2018.
Born in Belgium, An Alleweireldt trained as a product designer and jeweller in Antwerp, before crossing the channel to London. An furthered her studies at the Royal College of Art, winning the prestigious Armourers and Braziers Prize for Innovative Work.
Selling through her own brand, Oxx Jewellery London, An combines traditional metals with more surprising materials – such as LP vinyl inserts.
‘I’m passionate about the amount of energy and power that springs from the ancient craft of engraving. Works of art should be made for everyone to enjoy. Engraving is central to my design and art; it is from engraving that my other skills have evolved.’ Malcolm Appleby
Malcolm Appleby was born in 1946. He studied at Central School of Art, Sir John Cass and the Royal College of Art in London before establishing his studio in Scotland in 1969. A silversmith and metal engraver, known for his imaginative use of line and form, he considers gold ‘just another lovely material to work with.’
The Scottish Gallery has been associated with Malcolm Appleby since the 1970s; the many facets of his work have brought joy to many, each piece sold marking the beginning of a journey of discovery around this senior artist. The Gallery honoured Malcolm Appleby’s seventieth birthday in January 2016, which marked over fifty years of a creative tour de force. Appleby has dedicated his artistic practice primarily to engraving and pushing the boundaries of metalwork; constant experimentation has made him a master of his craft and in 2014 he received an MBE for his outstanding contribution to the arts.
Public Collections include:
The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; British Museum, London; Royal Armouries, Tower of London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh; and Perth Museum & Art Gallery
Malcolm’s silversmithing collection can be viewed here.
Michael Becker is renowned for working predominantly in gold, which he combines with stones such as lapis lazuli, uvarovite and red mineral pigment.
His exquisite small scale constructions offer us a powerful contemporary interpretation of these most ancient materials, which examines Becker’s use of subtle texture, colour and geometric shapes. Michael studied at the Fachhochschule Cologne, Germany and his work is held in numerous public collections.
Public Collections include:
V&A, London; Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; Musée des arts décoratifs de Montréal, Montreal; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York
Elizabeth Jane Campbell graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2013, and then spent a year as Artist in Residence at Glasgow School of Art before establishing her own studio in Edinburgh. Elizabeth’s award winning jewellery has been exhibited across the UK and abroad – most recently in Milan, Munich and America.
‘My recent work explores the connection between colour and shape – taking inspiration from colour theory, colour connotations and visual literacy. Using vitreous enamel enables me to achieve fantastic colours which I contrast with simple oxidised silver settings. The surface finish of the enamel is really important, as a gloss or matt finish can really change the quality of the enamel colour. Each piece is hand finished to highlight the vibrancy of the colour.’
Permanent collections include:
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London
Elizabeth was the subject of a solo exhibition in March 2020 – Colour Connections. Read our blog for an insight into her studio and the inspiration behind her work.
The unique landscape of the Orkney Islands provides inspiration for Grace Girvan’s work. She enjoys beach combing and uses the objects that she unearths on her expeditions in her work, combining found objects such as pebbles, driftwood and shell with precious metal and enamel. Her work is evocative of her inspiration, through a restrained colour palette of soft greys, blues, greens and browns she conveys the washed out, sun bleached colours of the sea and shore.
Public Collections include:
Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Aberdeen
Lucie Gledhill originally studied at the Royal College of Art and is based in London where she works with predominantly with wire in various precious metals. She often uses the finest available grade and favours techniques such as weaving wire and making chain; both repetitive processes that allow her to fully understand and explore her materials.
‘Over time I have built up a relationship with the materials I work with. This means I can predict what they will do, how they will move. I can push them to their limits. I deliberately use a low-tech approach to making. There is a sensitivity toward the detail in things.’
Since the late 1970s Simon Harrison and his team of designers and craftsmen have made jewellery for some of the most iconic names in fashion, making jewellery and fashion accessories for the designers of the time; Jean Muir, Zandra Rhodes, Bill Gibb, Bruce Oldfield and others. Simon regards Jean Muir as an important mentor who influenced the development of his philosophy of design. ‘She was relentless in negotiating the tiniest detail if she felt it would lead to a technical or aesthetic improvement. I learned that the commercial content of design is critical and must be in balance with the technical and aesthetic content.’
During the 1980s, Simon lectured part-time in jewellery design at the Sir John Cass School of Art in London and worked as a visiting lecturer at a number of colleges and universities in the UK. He then worked as an international product development co-ordinator for Swarovski, before focusing on making fashion jewellery. In the early 1990s he designed customised fashion jewellery ranges for Corocraft, Wedgwood and the famous London store Liberty.
With a body of work which captures pioneering moments in contemporary style, Simon’s team have helped costume jewellery to become the vibrant category it is today. In his Central London studio, he heads up a creative team of highly skilled designers and craftsmen who produce pieces of jewellery with exquisite attention to detail. Simon believes that jewellery should be life-enhancing and an expression of personalty.
Dominika Kupcova is a recent graduate of the Glasgow School of Art Silversmithing and Jewellery department, graduating in 2017. As a jewellery designer and maker she aims to create complex, eye-catching structures with an element of optical illusion, carefully constructed using repeated layers of linear pattern. The work is informed by the aesthetic properties of the DNA double helix and DNA testing outcome; inspiration generated through an interest in science and genetics since childhood. A fascination with the intricacies of human genetic make-up, uniformly structured yet individual, is echoed in the unique hand crafted pieces. Complex and detailed drawing as the primary research technique informs the three dimensional structures of the wearable objects. Dominika’s work is created using a combination of hand and manufacturing processes – time-consuming and repetitive skills of metal work and hand cutting paper alongside quicker, modern techniques such as laser cutting. The resulting body of work seamlessly combines precious metals with non-precious materials of paper and card, which are manipulated and transformed through a variety of processes into a material which is flexible and durable. Most recently Dominika won the 2017 Goldsmith’s Company Precious Metal Bursary Award.
Ruth has been designing and making playful, sculptural jewellery since 2015. Her eponymous jewellery collection is made by hand using recycled silver and gold and is inspired by both the subtle details within fabrics as well as the intricate constructions within textile machinery. Ruth finely twists wire using an old-fashioned hand drill which is then cut and wrapped around frames to create tactile, refined forms – like dangling architecture.
Her collection comprises of clean, elegant structures that stand on their own as well as showcasing her signature twisted-wire details. These are bold yet classic designs that transcend seasons and trends. Each piece is handmade by Ruth in her Edinburgh studio.
Ann Little graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1996.
“Most of my jewellery incorporates slate or enamel. When I first set up in business I concentrated on hand cutting and filing slate, sometimes inlaying silver and mother-of-pearl. With the purchase of a kiln for enamelling, I began to introduce colour combining enamel with slate, making many pieces reversible to give the wearer a choice of colour. I use enamel powder dry, sprinkling on thin layers of colour, sometimes drawing into the powder enamel or rubbing it back once fired to reveal colours underneath. I also enamel on thin copper shim overheating the enamel to make it burn away from the raised marks that are scored into the metal. My latest work now involves simple, bold shapes.” – Ann Little
Public Collections include:
Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum; National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh
Jenny Llewellyn is an award winning, contemporary jewellery designer-maker based in London. Originally studying at Leeds College of Art & Design (2003-2004), Jenny then specialised in Jewellery at Middlesex University (2004-2007). Inspired by the luminous colours, shapes and movement of underwater life, Jenny’s work is characterised by handcrafted, organic forms of precious metals combined with vibrant bursts of silicone. Jenny’s practice is driven by experimentation. Experimentation with colour and experimentation with material; combining precious with non-precious to create tactile and fun pieces available in the full spectrum of colours from discreet pops of monochrome to full statement colour-fades. Central to Jenny’s practice is her pioneering use of silicone. Often mistaken for glass or plastic, silicone is surprisingly soft, light and durable, resulting in unique and wearable contemporary jewellery design – a celebration of colour. Jenny exhibits both nationally and internationally and has won numerous awards including the Professional Jeweller Hot 100 in 2014.
Christa Lühtje was born in Hamburg in 1941. She completed an apprenticeship and then attended the Academy of Visual Arts from 1961 to 1967 in Munich, where she studied with Professor Franz Rickert. The classical harmony, the purity of the forms and the sensitive handling of the materials make it impossible to assign her creations to any specific time or epoch. Christa says making jewellery is her passion. She has won two German state prizes and numerous other commendations, and her artworks are represented in major international collections. Christa regards her work as “the endless attempt to capture traces of life and to find forms and expressions for the jewellery.”
Heather McDermott studied Jewellery and Silversmithing at Edinburgh College of Art before completing an MA in 2011. She then returned home to the town of Aird, in the Isle of Skye, where she takes inspiration from the ever-changing shoreline and landscape.
“The tideline of Skye is a treasure trove of unique objects discarded from the urban environment and deposited by the power of the Hebridean swell. Here rope, wood and plastic take on a subtler identity as wind and wave shape and re-shape form and colour. These inspirational scenes are developed and translated in my work by utilising shapes and colours. Unconventional in size and structure, each piece is an expression of sculptural form and is designed to create a statement. The continually changing shoreline is my constant source of inspiration and my current collection ‘tidal surge’ is the contemporary interpretation of these surroundings.” – Heather McDermott, 2016
Sheila McDonald was born in Fife and studied Textile Design at Glasgow School of Art, before studying at the Royal College of Art, London. This fascination with textiles is still apparent in her jewellery and silversmithing where she combines precious metals with enamel.
‘Most of my work features transparent enamel on silver, combining bright, rich colour and pattern with fine gold wire and fine gold or silver leaf. I use traditional enamelling techniques such as cloissoné, champlevé and plique-a-jour. I also work in 18ct gold, fabricating small, delicate pieces which incorporate plique-a-jour enamel. My main influences have always been a love of drawing and watercolour painting. I have always had a childlike excitement about colour and drawing ….this has been with me for as long as I can remember.’
Public collections include:
Goldsmiths’ Hall, London; Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow; Norwich Castle Museum; Holden Gallery, Manchester; Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery.
Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Grainne was immersed in and surrounded by the traditional crafts, folklore, music and fairy tales of the country. Perhaps it’s this beginning to her story that has now imbued her work with it’s somewhat contradictory nature – all at once vintage and contemporary, precious and non-precious, spontaneous and ordered, junk and treasure. Each piece, carefully choreographed, the arranging and re-arranging of little objects, and precious things, moved and re-placed until they establish a relationship to each other and tell a story to the viewer.
Moving to Edinburgh in the late eighties to study at Edinburgh College of Art led to Grainne becoming an avid collector of antiques and ephemera. When her parents visited her in Edinburgh, they would go on antique-buying trips for their shop at home in Northern Ireland, and Grainne would tag along. Her collections became her inspiration, and her inspiration became her work. This use of unexpected, and delightfully juxtaposed, materials is where it all started, and 25 years later, is now firmly her trademark. Grainne’s work has been exhibited internationally and, in 2007, she was shortlisted for the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize.
Public Collections include:
National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh; Crafts Council Collection, London; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada; Ulster Museum, Belfast
Kathie Murphy trained at Middlesex Polytechnic and Glasgow School of Art. She set up her studio in 1992 and specialises in resin jewellery. Inspiration is particularly drawn from the seemingly endless possibilities of colour mixing and colour combinations – each piece has been individually pigmented and then finished by hand which makes the jewellery very tactile.
Kathie is the author of Resin Jewellery and Design and Make Non-Precious Jewellery and her work is in the collections of MIMA, Museum of Scotland and Aberdeen City Art Gallery.
Joanne Thompson creates special everyday wearable pieces and extraordinary three dimensional necklaces and bracelets which are comfortable, elegant and easy to wear. Joanne studied Jewellery & Silversmithing at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 1993, before completing an MA in Jewellery at the Royal College of Art in London in 1995. Her distinctive silver and soft black palette is playful and sensual; elegant movement is integral to her jewellery – beautifully made, beautiful on and loved by women. Ancient chain maille patterns are a constant inspiration. Joanne experiments with the scale, weight, form and texture of the chains, making sculptural forms, necklaces, bracelets and earrings which are voluminous yet light, tactile and extremely durable. Her aim is to create striking contemporary jewellery which can be worn for both special occasions and every day. Joanne is fascinated by unit construction techniques in jewellery making, enjoying the way hard precious metals can be translated into soft forms which flow and stir with the body. Every circle in each unique handcrafted piece is formed, soldered and finished by Joanne.
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