LEEDS GUIDE
6th August, 2008
Art & Museums
Now & Then
Gems past and present
at Kath Libbert Jewellery
Whether
it’s because I’m a girl or because I have a child-like
preoccupation with all things that shine and sparkle, jewellery
has always been a fascination. It’s an art form that has been
around for nearly as long as humankind, its styles and uses changing
and developing through the centuries.
Once worn to show wealth and status as well as for pinning clothes
and for cherishing loved ones, these days in the west it is largely
decorative.
Despite these changes, many of the inspirations behind jewellery
designs have remained constant throughout the years and these themes
are explored at the Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery at Salts Mill
this summer.
The exhibition, Now & Then, features
the work of 16 leading contemporary
designers from around the world, many making their UK debut. With
help from the BBC’s ‘Antiques Roadshow’ jewellery
expert and valuer Susan Rumfitt, the gallery has organised
this contemporary work alongside remarkable pieces from the 18th,
19th and 20th centuries.
The themes under which the work was curated include ‘Sentiment
and Sex’, ‘Power and Politics’, ‘The Lighter
Side’ and ‘Memento Mori’ (death and mourning).
One standout piece is a striking ring by Kelvin J Birk called ‘Two-Claw
Cluster’ in the ‘Sentiment and Sex’ section.
Made from 22ct gold, it is bright and sumptuously yellow in colour
but not a complete circle. Instead, it twists into a horseshoe shape
that culminates in beautiful branch-like ends clustered with rubies
and pink agate.
This is set alongside ‘Regard’ (c. 1840), a striking
gold heart pendant set with ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst and
diamond, which would be the perfect stowaway for a stolen lock of
hair.
Other artists exhibiting include Adam Paxon, Georg Dobler, Laura
Deakin, Ruudt Peters Inger Larsen, Susan Matsche, Felieke van der
Leest (who created that rather fetching penguin)
and Emily Bullock.
Until 28th September, Kath Libbert Jewellery, Salts Mill,
Saltaire
AC
