Friday, January 29, 2010

GEMMA DRAPER

The Montjuic Castle sits atop a hill in Barcelona, Spain providing the city with even more picturesque beauty.

The 17th century structure houses both a military and comics museum. Spain is also the home of featured jewelry designer Gemma Draper.

Draper's prolific conceptual work comprises seven very distinctive collections. They are an eclectic mix made from traditional and non-traditional materials that include steel wire, enamel, steel, silver, and wood, glass beads, polymer clay, quartz, stone and horn.

The items are more like objects than jewelry, and are not conventionally beautiful in their abstract, non-descript forms; however, these characteristics are what captures your attention. Although Draper's website provides some insight into her creative process, overall I feel the pieces are open to interpretation.

Like other conceptual artists, Draper derives items from her exploration of varied themes such as words and linguistics, dimensional layers, and the lifespan of a flower.

The renderings are unusual, puzzling, and provocative taking an observer on a wild journey through form and concept that challenge perceptions of beauty and value as they relate to jewelry.

There seems to be a certain amount of rebelliousness in this very intellectual design approach that I really like. Technically speaking, it is jewelry but from a visual standpoint, it is an object. In the end however whether jewelry or object it is an incredible form of artistic expression.
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Photo 1 (top right): Canefora, Oxidized Silver, Brass, Stone and Pearl Brooch from Bliss a Bliss Collection
Photo 2 (bottom left): Copper, Enamel, Brass, Acrylic and Sterling Silver from Parties Under the Bridge Collection

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