Come with us on a beautiful journey as we bring together several artists who have woven a timeless tale in jewellery which together tells a story of Sun, Sea & Stars. Featuring collections from: Malcolm Appleby, Michelle Currie, Kyosun Jung, Jane Moore, Grainne Morton, Paul Preston and Wendy Ramshaw.

Malcolm Appleby and Paul Preston are both highly inventive, albeit very different, creators of narrative jewellery using techniques including engraving and chasing. Michelle Currie works with iron oxide, iron shards and ferrofluid (a substance engineered by NASA), and her practice explores the unseen forces and laws that govern and shape our world. Both Kyosun Jung and Jane Moore have developed outstanding enamel techniques, achieving beautifully rendered surfaces with a deep lustre and depth of colour. Grainne Morton creates carefully choreographed jewellery with found objects which reference a historical language of jewellery. Wendy Ramshaw’s iconic ringsets are wearable sculptures; each carefully selected precious or semi-precious stone hinting at narratives when placed alongside geometric forms.

Malcolm Appleby

Photography by Philippa Swann

Born: 1946

Place of Birth: West Wickham, London

‘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.

Michelle Currie

Born: 1985

Place of Birth: Vale of Leven, Scotland

Michelle Currie is currently Artist in Residence at The Glasgow School of Art Silversmithing and Jewellery Department after graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in 2020. Her unique practice combines traditional Silversmithing techniques with her love of Science and Astronomy. For her recent collection, Michelle visited the Physics and Astronomy Laboratories at The University of Glasgow, learning from Technicians and Scientists about their world leading research into Black Holes and Gravitational Waves. This unique collection is the result of an exploration into the unseen forces that govern and shape our world. By combining silver and precious stones with ferromagnetic materials containing iron particles, Michelle captures the exciting variety of textures and movement created when exposing iron particles to neodymium magnets. She creates her own mixtures of iron particles that are sculpted directly onto magnetic field lines using the invisible structure as a canvas to capture the explosive moments as static ominous wearable sculptures.

‘I am ever captivated and inspired by the beauty of the intrinsically interwoven nature of ‘Science and Art,’ sharing the pursuit of knowledge and an understanding of our place in the universe. Although often communicated in different ways, the fields are deeply connected by curiosity and the need to explore the unexplored, making sense of our observations and experiences.’

Michelle’s has received multiple industry awards such as a Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Award, Goldsmiths’ Centre Precious Metal Bursary Award 2020 and received a prestigious ceremonial mace commission by The University of Glasgow to be unveiled in 2021. Michelle’s graduate work has also been awarded both the Fife Contemporary New Maker Award 2020 and the Incorporation of Goldsmiths Graduate Award 2020.

Kyosun Jung

Born: 1984

Place of Birth: Seoul, South Korea

Kyosun Jung’s work exudes a striking combination and contrast of simple forms with expressive decoration. Her designs are well considered, thoroughly developed and beautifully crafted with inspiration drawn from nature informing the surface patterns. Kyosun completed a BA Hons Silversmithing, Goldsmithing & Jewellery course at the University for the Creative Arts in Rochester in 2014. She is currently working from the workshop of the internationally renowned silversmith Clive Burr at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London.

‘Research, original design and decorative features made to the highest standards is fundamental to my work. My technical work requires focused concentration and skill. I am always extending my technical learning and manufacturing capabilities and I am very interested in reviving traditional techniques in combination with technology i.e. Puk welding. This combination of old and new creates a different visual identity and the main techniques I use at present are; wire applications, hand engraving, puk welding, engine turning and enamelling. I find and utilise inspiring research from nature and geometry with its infinite creations for patterns and textures. For example, observing the linear qualities of water provide plenty of material for the decorative detailing in my designs and I also incorporate aspects of Korean and European aesthetics. My designs start as freehand drawings that are then taken into 3D forms with models and maquettes that are subsequently transferred onto the computer. I work well using both hand and machine technical skills to realise my designs and concepts. With my recent work, I have taken my enamel pieces inspiration from the night sky, sunset and sunrise. I love the sky’s different colours – it’s always changing; days and night, seasons.’

Public Collections include:
Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The British Museum, London; The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers

Jane Moore

Born: 1952

Place of Birth: North Wales, Hawarden

Jane Moore creates bright, colourful enamelled jewellery. Her inspiration comes from the simple silhouettes of traditional Japanese artefacts and textiles embellished with tiny, floral motifs. She also recalls vivid memories of her mother’s intricate embroidery. Ideas begin as drawings in her sketch book. Only when she arrives at a pleasing image does she begin to consider whether it is technically possible. While enamelling is rooted in traditional techniques Jane also embraces more modern, industrial methods, such as photo etching, laser cutting, or the application of fine enamel transfers.

Throughout her career Jane has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including regular appearances at The New York Gift Fair, EUNIQUE Karlsruhe Germany and SIERAAD Amsterdam. In 2006 Jane received the prestigious Kayman Award from the National Association of Jewellers (formerly the British Jewellers Association).

Grainne Morton

Born: 1970

Place of Birth: Lurgan, Northern Ireland

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

Paul Preston

Born: 1943

Place of Birth: Leeds

Born in Leeds, Paul Preston a.k.a. the ‘Red Mole’ originally practised architecture before becoming a self-taught jeweller. His combination of fine workmanship and imaginative ideas make him one of the most distinctive contemporary British jewellers today. Paul practised architecture for just two years before retiring to dive the waters round Lands End for crawfish and the recovery of non-ferrous metals from wrecks. His interest in jewellery began after seeing the jewellery of artist and sculptor Breon O’Casey.

A large proportion of Paul’s work is based on themes from nature, especially birds and fish. This natural world in metal often has a strong element of fantasy influenced by cartoons and story books, as well as a whimsical, poetic quality.

Paul Preston now works from his studio in West Wales. His work is in many public and private collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

The Gallery will be hosting a solo exhibition in August 2024 – The Impartial Observer.

Wendy Ramshaw

Photography by David Watkins

Born: 1939

Died: 2018

Wendy Ramshaw, CBE, RDI, was an international champion of modern jewellery. Her signature ringsets are represented in over 70 public collections worldwide. Ramshaw’s work also encompassed designs for textiles, screens, gateways and sculpture. The Scottish Gallery has exhibited some of her most ambitious ideas through exhibitions such as Picasso’s Ladies (1989), Rooms of Dreams (2002), Prospero’s Table (2004) and A Journey Through Glass (2007). Exhibitions such as Room of Dreams, which was designed and created as a theatrical stage set for the jewellery, have become embedded not only in Ramshaw’s spectacular career but also illustrate the commitment by The Gallery to truly original ideas.

Public Collections include:
Victoria & Albert Museum, London; National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA; National Gallery of Western Australia, Canberra; British Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.

In August 2023 we presented Wendy Ramshaw – The Early Years as part of our Festival Presentation – Wonder Women. You can discover more about Wendy Ramshaw’s life and work in her words in our special blog series here.

Sun, Sea & Stars