O
SIN Fine Arts
Metal Triad
Metal sculpture by Boris Bally, Tom
Joyce and David Secrest will be at the
Wetsman Collection, 132 N. Wood-
ward, Birmingham, through Jan. 4.
Bally uses recycled environmental ma-
terials to create both functional and
nonfunctional vessels and objects.
Joyce creates architectural ironwork
using a hot-forged process to produce
details for gates and railings, hinges
and grills, furniture and door handles,
objects and vessels. Secrest employs
blacksmithing techniques to form fur-
niture and sculptural objects. (810) 645-
6212.
Boris Bally: Under Construction 9, nine bowls from
reused orange work/traffic signs, copper rivets.
Another Opening ... Another Show
Baubles, Bangles and Beads
T
he development of the
most personal form of art
—jewelry — takes a pub-
lic shape through a series
of exhibitions, some continuing
into January.
Cranbrook Art Museum fea-
tures "Messengers of Modernism:
American Studio Jewelry, 1940-
1960" and "Signals: Late Twenti-
eth-Century American Jewelry."
Both shows, which explore the stu-
dio jewelry movement, will be open
through Jan. 5.
Area galleries will display jew-
elry as well: ShawGuido in Ponti-
ac ("Contemporary American and
British Jewelers" through Dec. 7),
Sybaris in Royal Oak ("Contem-
Carol Wineman:
Cries and
Whispers, quilt.
Keith A. Lewis: Our Dear Bob, pin,
1994, from "Signals."
Quilted
Canvases
Jewish artists and Jewish themes thread together Quintessential Quilts, the exhibit run-
ning through Jan. 2 at the'Janice-Charach Epstein Museum Gallery at the Maple-Drake
Jewish Commu.nity Center.
_ -The quilters have patched together very different forms of expression including nar-
rative works that tell a story, a memento of travel captured with stamps and a seven-
page book that conveys the days of creation. Fifteen artists display their works. (810)
66177641,-
Midwest Scenery
American scene painter John
Steuart Curry (1897-1946)
taught master classes in
Madison, Wis., where the sur-
rounding rural life became his
subject matter. That group of
paintings will be shown
through Dec. 14 at the David
Klein Gallery, 163 Townsend,
Birmingham.
Curry, known for his out-
door panoramas that capture
the forces of nature, brought
rich colors to his canvases, ul-
timately conveying a bright
outlook. (810) 433-3700.
John Steuart Curry: Rainbow and
View of Madison, Wisconsin, 1937,
oil on canvas.
information, including photos or slides, three weeks prior to publication date, to Gail
Zimmerman, Fine Arts Editor, c Jo The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield,
MI 48034; information may be faxed to (810) 354-6069.
Harry Bertoia: Brooch, brass, 1942, from
"Messengers."
porary Thought in Jewelry"
through Jan. 11), Wearley Studio
in Royal Oak ("Moving Bound-
aries: Jewelry by Nicole R. Lan-
daw" through Dec. 20) and Yaw in
Birmingham "(New Works by Cor-
nelia Roethel" through Dec. 31).
"The exhibit I curated, I think,
is seminal to jewelry as an art
form," said jewelry historian Toni
Greenbaum, who put together
"Messengers of Modernism."
"It shows a real desire among
women to wear something ex-
pressive and presents the in-
fluences of the modern art
movement, including surrealism,
cubism and abstract expression-
ism. Jewelry influenced by mod-
em art forms didn't express
wealth. Instead, it focused on artis-
tic bent."
"Messengers of Modernism," or-
ganized by the Montreal Museum
of Decorative Arts, showcases the
work of 25 artists including
Alexander Calder and Harry
Bertoia. It premieres at Cranbrook
before traveling to more than 10
institutions around the world, in-
cluding The Israel Museum in
Jerusalem.
"Signals," curated by Gary Grif-
fin, head of the Cranbrook depart-
ment of metalsmithing, focuses on
the work of 15 contemporary jew-
elry makers whose designs reflect
their belief that jewelry serves as
signals of late-20th-century life.
"As wearers and observers of
jewelry, human beings intuitively
understand that jewelry is inher-
ently meaningful,". Griffin said.
"But what those same human
beings may not have considered is
that there exists within our soci-
ety a group of people that not only
believe that they can make mean-
ing but also that they can project
meaning into the world through
jewelry."
The exhibition includes works
completed in the past two years by
artists from all over the country,
including Erika Ayala Stefanutti
and Jill Slosburg-Akerman. They
encode messages into their de-
signs, exploring issues such as sex-
uality, drugs, persona, the body,
materiality, economics, nature,
feminism and AIDS.
"The jewelry on display reflects
the times and places experienced
by the artists," Greenbaum said.
'When a person puts on jewelry, it
expresses an aesthetic attitude and
tells who that person is."
❑
"Messengers of Modernism"
and "Signal" will be at the Cran-
brook. Art Museum through Jan.
5. Hours are: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wednesdays, Fridays and Satur-
days; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays;
and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. For in-
formation, call (810)645-3323.