Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection will open on November 17, in celebration of the recent gift from the renowned collector to Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
“The collection will trace the radical development in jewelry from the mid-20th century to present, highlighting jewelry design’s expressive and innovative achievements, ranging from works that make a political statement to pieces that employ found materials to tell a personal narrative.” The exhibit will feature 150 brooches, necklaces, bracelets and rings from modern and contemporary jewelry designers from Germany, Holland, Japan, Israel, the United States and elsewhere.
The exhibit will include a series of programs and workshops, exploring topics in contemporary jewelry, and include a reception and collectors’ conversation with Susan Grant Lewin (November 16), a full-day symposium with esteemed scholars and celebrated designers and jewelers, including Bruce Metcalf, Cliff Slemmons, and Joyce Scott (November 17), a jewelry workshop with world-renowned enamelist, Jaime Bennett (November 18), and a Tea and Talk with prominent jewelry collectors (Dec 12). Complete roster of events here.
“I have been collecting jewelry for decades and it only becomes more exciting as the field of conceptual jewelry design continues to flourish,” said Susan Grant Lewin. “I meet designers from around the world, so the collection is international in scope. I like to find the leaders and innovators—the most experimental jewelry designers—and I am thrilled that Cooper Hewitt is exposing their revolutionary work to the general public.” An Opening Reception and book signing with collector Susan Grant Lewin and Ursula Ilse-Neuman will take place on November 16 from 6:30-8:00pm. Tickets here.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is the only museum in the United States devoted to historical and contemporary design, with a collection that explores approximately 240-years of design aesthetic and creativity consisting of decorative and design objects.
An accompanying 176-page publication by Ilse-Neuman will be published, featuring hundreds of full-color illustrations and techniques and materials used by more than 90-world-class jewelry designers.
Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection is co-curated by Ursula Ilse-Neuman and Cooper Hewitt, and will be on view from November 17, 2017 to May 28, 2018 at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street, NYC.