WENDY RAMSHAW
PRECIOUS METAL
Cover:
Time Traveller 90 Ring set [6 parts] silver with gold details Nickel stand
WENDY RAMSHAW
PRECIOUS METAL
Q uinternational e s t contemporary G a l l arte r y
WENDY RAMSHAW
FCSD FRSA OBE RDI CBE
PRECIOUS METAL is an exhibition which celebrates 50 years of fine jewellery designed and made by Wendy Ramshaw. The ring sets, small sculptures and drawings combine to give a sense of the vitality and breadth of this remarkable artist. Wendy Ramshaw was born in Sunderland in 1939 and studied illustration and fabric design in Newcastle upon Tyne, going on to Reading University and finishing with post-graduate studies at the Central School of Art and Design, London in 1969. As Britain’s foremost designer of jewellery, Wendy has been acknowledged at the highest levels for her achievement. She was made Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1972. A year later she was named a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, one of the first two women to be admitted to the guild’s ranks, and in 1986 she was made a Lady Liveryman. In acknowledgement of her services to the arts, she was awarded the OBE in 1993 and the CBE in 2003. Wendy Ramshaw’s work has been shown in over two hundred exhibitions worldwide and in some 70 museums and art galleries. Her signature works are sets of rings, abstract pieces in precious metals and gems. They are often displayed on perspex ring-stands which are exquisitely sculptural and when enlarged become works of great presence and beauty. Alongside the jewellery Wendy has produced fine drawings and prints. Commissions she has been given range from gates to sculptural towers. Wendy Ramshaw is quoted as saying, ‘I am supposed to make beautiful things.’ Her designs are based in geometry: the circle and square, ring and band. She elaborates on these time and again to achieve compositions that are extremely complex. She has said that her work is about complication and how far you can push an idea. She constantly researches and experiments, finding new materials and extending her sculptural vocabulary. In working more recently on a large scale, her imagery complements architecture and interiors, as her jewellery dresses the human body. Acknowledgements: Cass Sculpture foundation
Tools of Navigation I Room of Dreams brass, nickel alloy and optical glass sculpture
Ring set [5 parts] 18ct yellow, sapphire, iolite, flat polished bands White delrin stand inlaid with dark mauve bands Ring set [7 parts] 18ct white, moonstone, labradorite White acetal stand inlaid with white bands Ring set [7 parts] 18ct white with matt surface, 5 sapphires, 2 tourmalines White delrin stand inlaid with dark blue bands
Ring set [7 parts] 18ct yellow, moonstone [milky] White delrin stand Ring set [7 parts] 18ct yellow, garnet, ruby, cornelian, fire opal White delrin stand inlaid with red bands Ring set [6 parts] 18ct white, aquamarine White delrin stand
Ring set [6 parts] Soft Geometrics silver Clear acrylic stand Ring set [4 parts] Soft Geometrics silver Clear acrylic stand Ring set [6 parts] Soft Geometrics silver Clear acrylic stand Ring set [5 parts] Soft Geometrics silver Clear acrylic stand
Ring set [3 parts] 18ct yellow, geometric shape, silver with black and gold dust enamel bands Clear acrylic stand Ring set [3 parts] 18ct yellow, diamond with gold band, silver with dark enamel bands Clear acrylic stand Ring set [3 parts] 18ct yellow, tear drop garnet, silver with white-blue speckle enamel bands Clear acrylic stand
Ring set [2 parts] aquamarine on a double ring, plain silver band Clear acrylic stand Ring set [2 parts] silver with haematite [heavy setting], wide heamatite band Frosted acrylic stand Ring set [2 parts] 18ct yellow with iolite, silver with blue enamel band Clear acrylic stand
Ring set [4 parts] White Geometrics silver with matt finish Clear acrylic stand Ring set [3 parts] silver with onyx, wide silver band with with black enamel bands Clear acrylic stand
Ring set [12 parts] 18ct yellow, garnet, ruby, Brass stand inlaid with purple Ring set [8 parts] 18ct yellow gold rings with fire opals, cornelian, Brass stand inlaid with orange
Ring large cone top silver Ring small cone top silver
Ring large ‘pod’ top with gold granule silver gold Ring medium ‘pod’ top with gold granule silver gold Ring small ‘pod’ top with gold granule silver gold
Ring 18ct yellow, oval top, moonstone Ring 18ct yellow, oval top, onyx Ring 18ct yellow, square top, emerald
Tools of Navigation II Room of Dreams brass and nickel alloy sculpture photography: Graham Pym and Peter Stone
Quest Gallery international contemporary art
3 St James Street Bath BA1 2TW 01225 444142 www.questgallery.co.uk