HUDSON, NY.- Ornamentum Gallery will be the first and only contemporary jewelry gallery to be an exhibiting design gallery at Design Miami/ Basel – the sister fair of Design Miami/, June 15 – 19, 2011. Ornamentum Gallery will feature 11 of the most important names in international contemporary jewelry at Design Miami / Basel 2011:

David Bielander
Switzerland

Meticulously engineered works with humorous themes are made in small, limited editions. The curved wood of an original Thonet coffee-house stool is sawed apart and rebuilt into 3 “Wurst” necklaces. The edition is limited to 12 stools, each of which produces three sausage-chains- a Wiener, a Frankfurter and of course a Munich White-Wurst, paying tribute to the city where the designer currently resides.

Iris Eichenberg
Netherlands / USA

Holding the position as Artist in Residence / Head of the Jewelry Dept. at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, Iris Eichenberg creates highly unconventional wearable works based on themes of intensely personal nature. Eichenberg’s oeuvre touches on sentimentality, place and state of being, transience and relationships both personal and familial, using materials such as rubber, leather, fabric and wood more frequently than metals, Eichenberg forgoes the common brooch mechanism to create a piece that hangs on a pocket or must be pushed through a button hole.

Eichenberg’s experiences of being in constant flux – born in Germany, schooled in the Netherlands and emigrated to the USA – are referenced in the (Pocket clip) brooch “New Rooms”, as material swatches from the local building supply house are juxtaposed together with stitched fabric musters and layers of wood tones.

Karl Fritsch
Germany

No other jeweler approaches making jewelry (in particular rings) in the same manner as German Karl Fritsch. Working with a childlike playfulness and a love for the self-referential theme of jewelry while simultaneously disregarding all of the accepted notions of what is important in the creation of jewelry, Fritsch boldly pushes the boundaries so far past the point of ridiculousness that they reach the point of profundity.

If ever a ring, which is typically such a personal and sentimental object, can be described as a Tour de Force, Karl Fritsch’s “Seven Deadly Sins” from 2007 is the occasion. Seven barely- wearable rings that are offered only within the context of the full set will be the highlight of Fritsch’s exhibition. Additionally there will be an assortment of about 30 other rings (and one brooch) of various materials and size on display.

John Iversen
USA

Trained in Germany, living and working in New York, the work of John Iversen is highly sought after and found in many important private and public collections. Iversen’s latest works – bracelets and brooches of hundreds of “cracked” segments move on the body like a second skin of red, green yellow and white gold – they sensuously ask to be worn, touched… even caressed like a fine fabric on the body.

Sergey Jivetin
USA

Born in Uzbekistan, residing in the Hudson Valley, Sergey Jivetin is known as one of the most important young American Jewelers working today. Working with utmost precision and masterful handwork, brooches of eggshell , fit together like puzzle pieces and strengthened from within using resin and Kevlar (bullet proof vest material) convey the forms of clouds, a drop of water or a splash, frozen on the lapel or shoulder of the wearer.

Jiro Kamata
Japan / Germany

Japanese artist Jiro Kamata, currently residing and teaching at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, presents his latest works “Arboresque” with Ornamentum in Miami. Brooches, a necklace and pendants are made with camera lenses, the backs of which have been painted to evoke imagery of smoke wafting or oil slicks on water, set within silver bezels and surrounded by arabesque patterns which, together with the colors in the works, were inspired by the artist’s travels in Mexico.

Ted Noten
Netherlands

One of the most awe-inspiring designers at our last three presentations in Miami has been Ted Noten. No one in the field of contemporary jewelry has pushed the medium so far past its’ definition into the realms of the fine arts and the contemporary design object as has Noten.

The iconic handbag / suitcase form synonymous with the Atelier Noten name comes alive again in an untitled work made of a 5 Kg bar of silver with a handle and shoulder strap mounted upon it.

Ruudt Peters
Netherlands

A group of 4 sculptural necklaces titled “Lingam” will be on exhibition, as well as a few key historical pieces from one of the biggest names in Dutch conceptual jewelry design.

In “Lingam”, Peters explores the phallus form in these talismanic pieces of wood, blown glass, resin, Thai statuettes etc. When worn, the pieces hang provocatively at groin level, protruding in a manner evoking thoughts of the timeless quip of “… or are you happy to see me?” As sculptures, the pieces hang beautifully on the wall or ceiling, a contemporary take on the ancient symbol of fertility and strength.
Works from Lingam have been exhibited at the Museum of Christian Art or Catherijneconvent, Utrecht and pieces from the series can be found in private collections around the world including that of New York art dealer / collector Sean Kelly.

Gerd Rothmann
Germany

Since the 1960’s, Gerd Rothmann has been one of the seminal figures in contemporary jewelry.

Known for his work with the fingerprint and imprints of the skin, the jewelry of Rothmann achieves an almost iconic personal connection with the wearer. The wearer has a piece with much more than the designer’s signature, they almost have a piece of him on their jewelry, or a piece from a loved- one if the works are commissioned with personalized imprints.

To be exhibited are, among other works, a group of 3 brooches formed over Rothmann’s hand, two in silver, one clutching a brilliant red stone, another grasping for a white one and one 18K gold brooch with a red star at the tips of the artist’s fingers.

Philip Sajet
Netherlands

The work of Philip Sajet combines an intriguing mix of classic, delicate gold work with an aggression conveyed in stunning scale. Shards of red glass together with pearls in a necklace or the classic outline of a diamond covered with thorns of gold perched atop a ring covered with thorns of gold. Equal parts jewelry and sculpture, the work of Sajet is found in important private and museum collections worldwide.

Jennifer Trask
USA

Following on the heels of a major acquisition of a wall piece of gilded frame, antler and bone, by the Museum of Arts & Design, NYC, Trask has created a stunningly bold neckpiece titled “Acanthus”, following in a similar fashion as the museum piece, one of two major neckpieces to be exhibited in Basel.

Fragments of a 17th Century gilded frame are fused seamlessly to segments of antler that encircle the neck. With the fluid movement of the art nouveau, the materials entwine each other sensuously. On the neck the piece hinges at several points to follow the body’s curvatures comfortably and regally. Acanthus will be exhibited together with several other works, both wearable and for the wall.