Upon entering the From Picasso to Koons exhibit, at the Museum of Art and Design at 2 Columbus Circle, I was immediately struck by the sheer artistry and creative vision crafted into each individual piece. The exhibit, which opened on September 20th 2011 and goes through January 8th 2012, showcases jewelry created by some of the world’s most famous painters, architects, and sculptors throughout history. Notable names in the exhibit include Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Max Ernst, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor to name a few. All of these objects are hand-made, oneof-a-kind pieces that were created for individuals, and were never massproduced. The value of each piece in the collection is very high, because of their exclusive nature. The exhibit itself, although quite small, was set up in an innovative, yet simplistic way. The display cases were set up against two side walls, and in an oval-like formation in the center of a the small, low-lit room. The way the display cases were set up, made it easy for visitors to view the collection, in a flowing, smooth way. Viewers could simply walk around the exhibit from one display to the next, without obstruction. On the left wall, was the largest display case, which housed a large majority of the collection. Underneath the case were drawers that visitors could pull out and view more pieces. This action, made the exhibit more interactive, and gave it an air of mystery. The pieces in the collection were all shown to their best advantage with the use of simple light grey backgrounds and soft lighting. The entire presentation of the exhibit was calming, but at the same time, kept your interest from start to finish.
Even though the exhibit is called “Artists as Jewelers” the hand-crafted pieces in the collection are far from the typical jewelry you see on a daily basis. That is why these pieces should be classified as wearable art as an alternative. The pieces in the collection include necklaces, bracelets, rings, and brooches, made of varying materials. Most of the collection is made up of pieces made of precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum, but innovative materials such as paper, silk, neon lights, matches, and cigarettes were also used. It is actually the pieces that were constructed of unconventional materials that were among my favorites. One such piece was a glowing, neon necklace crafted by Keith Sonnier in 1941. The necklace had so much power because it was different from all of the other pieces on display, and because of the yellowgreen light that it produced. The light was entrancing, and it was hard to look away. Another piece that caught my attention was a necklace by Donald Sultan from the United States. The necklace was entitled “New York Survival” and it was made entirely out of cigarettes and matches. This work speaks to the satirical nature of today’s New Yorkers, and it is that statement that allows the piece to have a voice of its own. Each of the individual pieces in the collection had its own unique quality and character, much like the creators of the pieces themselves. Overall, I enjoyed the From Picasso to Koons exhibit, but it wasn’t really what I had expected. I thought I was going to see a far larger collection, and for more of the pieces to be very brightly colored. To be honest, the exhibit was quite devoid of color, which made it less enjoyable for me. While I liked the use of the drawer displays for
some of the works, I would have preferred that all of them would have been on display. I found that many pieces hidden away in the drawers were the most innovative and eye-catching, and would have really caught visitors’ attention when they were walking around the exhibit. All in all, I believe that anyone that is inspired by pure artistry, and expert craftsmanship, should visit this exhibit. You will see a whole new world of wearable art that you will never forget.