Ted Noten (Netherlands), Homage to Geronimo, 2020, pipe, 3-D printed steel, brass, 24K gold-plate, Edition of 5. Courtesy of Ornamentum
Philip Sajet (Netherlands), Pipe, 2020, 18k gold, paduk wood, with elmwood box. Courtesy of Ornamentum
Gijs Bakker (Netherlands), Joyride, 2020, Edition of 25. Photo by Sylvain Georget. Courtesy of Ornamentum
Ted Noten (Netherlands), Homage to Geronimo, 2020, pipe, 3-D printed steel, brass, 24K gold-plate, Edition of 5. Courtesy of Ornamentum
Philip Sajet (Netherlands), Pipe, 2020, 18k gold, paduk wood, with elmwood box. Courtesy of Ornamentum
Gijs Bakker (Netherlands), Joyride, 2020, Edition of 25. Photo by Sylvain Georget. Courtesy of Ornamentum
Ornamentum Gallery presents Up In Smoke: Contemporary studio artists from the jewelry, silversmithing, and design world take on marijuana at Design/ Miami /Podium 2020, November 27 – December 6, 2020. Exhibited works will also be available for purchase online at shop.designmiami.com, starting November 27.
Celebrated for centuries in the worlds of design, decorative, and applied arts, ‘acceptable vices’ such as imbibing alcohol, tobacco, and snuff etc. are often the subject of fancy silver, glassware, ceramics and more. In the past decade we saw a growing acceptance of marijuana use both therapeutically and recreationally, with full legalization now as part of the Democratic presidential campaign platform. There are so many embedded conversations around racial and economic justice, popular and musical culture, and government overreach in legislating morality to name a few. Yet, examples of high-caliber contemporary design objects made for marijuana use are rare. And, to Ornamentum Gallery’s knowledge, never before has an exhibition been mounted devoted entirely to the topic.
Based in Hudson, New York, Ornamentum Gallery thought it ‘High Time’ for such an exhibition, so it asked a group of the most significant studio artists and designers from within and outside their gallery stable to approach the topic. The results are stunning, innovative, and thought-provoking. Themes of ceremony, titillation, political caricature, humor, and appropriation emerge in the artists’ works, which also reflects their signature styles and technical skills.
Gijs Bakker (Netherlands), Ralph Bakker (Netherlands), David Bielander (Switzerland), Laurene Leon Boym (USA), David Clarke (United (Kingdom), Aaron Decker (USA), Karl Fritsch (Germany), Jiro Kamata (Japan), Anders Ljungberg (Sweden), Tiffany Massey (USA), Ted Noten (Netherlands), Gerd Rothmann (Germany), Philip Sajet (Netherlands), Petra Zimmermann (Austria).
David Bielander, a Swiss born artist based in Munich, has designed The Club, a 55 cm long fully-functional bronze cast bong. Bielander, is the winner of numerous awards including the Herbert Hoffmann Prize in 2010, the Francoise van den Bosch Award in 2012 and the Swiss Grand Prix de Design Award in 2017. In 2018, The Museum Of Arts & Design (NYC) acquired two of his works for its permanent collection.
Gijs Bakker, a legend of the Dutch design world, jeweler and founder of the venerated Droog Design, is creating Joyride a phallus pipe of platinum luster glaze porcelain, made in a limited edition of 5 along with a black glaze edition of 25. Born in 1942, Bakker is a Dutch jewelry and industrial designer of jewelry, home accessories and household appliances, furniture, interiors, public spaces and exhibitions. He co-founded Droog Design in 1993, the Chi ha paura…? (‘Who is afraid of…?’) Foundation in 1996 and has been the creative director for Yii Taiwan since 2009.
Acclaimed designer Laurene Leon Boym has given her Nug Box for the exhibition. Originally created for the exhibition Polished Performances at the Museum of the City of New York (2017), Nug Box was a contemporary response to a snuff box from the 1800s in the museum’s collection. The lid, hand-crafted by Boym, bears silver marijuana leaves. Boym’s designs have been exhibited in countless international museums including MOMA NY and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Her designs have won numerous awards, including the coveted National Design Award in 2009.
London silversmith David Clarke, recently the subject of a commission from the Dallas Museum of Art, is creating Stashed, a set of storage containers and smoking implements from antique silver tea services.Clarke is one of the most prominent avant garde figures in metalwork in the UK. Through his own studio work, he has mounted a vibrant challenge to settled assumptions about his medium. While he is capable of good craftsmanship, the value of his work is primarily expressive, conceptual and poetic.
American artist Aaron Patrick Decker, created an intricately enameled toy, cup-and-ball, covered in diamond harlequin patterns. The cup handle is a one hitter that detaches via a silver chain to the ball, a toy too pretty to play with. Decker is a jewelry artist based in Detroit whose work has been shown in exhibitions in the USA, Netherlands, China, Germany and more. He is the recipient of The Windgate Fellowship in 2012, Mercedes Benz Emerging Artist Award 2015 and the MARZEE Graduate prize 2015.
German artist Karl Fritsch, a jeweler with a huge art-world following, is primarily known for making rings. He has created a pipe of rough emerald, silver and synthetic sapphires. Born in 1963, Fritsch began with traditional Goldsmith’s practical training in 1982, followed by studies at the renowned jewelry department at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Frisch’s works can be found in important private and public collections worldwide, including the Stedelijk Museum (NL), the Museum of Arts & Design, (NY), and the Metropolitan Museum (NY).
Swedish silversmith Anders Ljundberg is creating a modular set for the home and to-go. Hand wrought in silver and chrome-plated brass, the elements include a storage jar, ashtray, pipe and a one-hitter. Born in 1966, Ljungberg is based in Gustavsberg, outside Stockholm in Sweden. He is a Professor at Konstfack, Art, Craft and Design University, Stockholm.
Dutch jeweler Philip Sajet is creating a flute-like pipe of padauk wood and a delicate gold bowl. Considered to be one of the goldsmiths in Europe, Sajet has exhibited his work around the world. It can be found in important public collections worldwide, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Musée des arts Décoratifs, Paris, the Royal College of Art, London, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Corning Museum of Glass.
Austrian artist Petra Zimmermann has created poison rings of sculpted acrylic with antique pocket watch cases to stow your personal supply. A pipe will accompany each ring. Born in Graz in 1975, Zimmermann studied sculpture at the Vienna University of Applied Arts. She has been the subject of a solo exhibition at MAK (Vienna) and her works can be found in collections such as the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, The Dallas Museum of Art, and the Jewelry Museum of Pforzheim (Germany) among others.
Founded in 2002, Ornamentum Gallery exhibits a dynamic collection of contemporary jewelry as well as related objects and artworks. Ornamentum hosts numerous exhibitions yearly in their Hudson, NY exhibition space – one of the world’s largest gallery spaces dedicated specifically to contemporary jewelry – where featured designers display their work in conceptual installations.
Design Miami/ is the global forum for design. Each fair brings together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. Occurring alongside the Art Basel fairs in Miami, USA each December and Basel, Switzerland each June, Design Miami/ has become the premier venue for collecting, exhibiting, discussing and creating collectible design.