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The ring in all its incarnations! Almost 2000 rings to delight our digits!
In 2009, Lily Yung, the Toronto-based jeweller and designer, invited a dozen or so artists to participate in a wonderful, whimsical project: to each create over 100 rings, more like 144 each, to arrive at a total of 2010. The aim of this exhibition was to explore the many circuitous routes a ring might take. From ready-mades to the ephemeral to Arte Povera, while making use of new technologies and tackling themes such as ecology and recycling, the offerings of the selected artists surprise and stimulate both the mind and the senses. In addition to the more traditional materials, plastic, porcelain, wood, resin, and paper have been put to use in unpredictable ways. First unveiled last October at Toronto’s *new* gallery, this exhibition now runs from March 10 to April 10, 2011 at Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h.
In spring 2010, Lily Yung, curator and participating artist, proposed this exhibition to the gallery. Then, in August, she died of cancer. Now, with this exhibition, Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h pays homage to the co-founder of the *new* gallery, a space dedicated to the contemporary fine crafts, to the editor of the magazine new views, but most of all to an artist who unceasingly innovated, investigated, and experimented. She took part in more than sixty group and individual shows and received many awards and grants. Shortly before her death, the Ontario Craft Council awarded her the John Mather Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her works can be found in many public and private collections. In 2010, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts acquired twenty of her creations. Originally from Hong Kong, in 1975 Lily Yung received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Alberta, and moved to Toronto where she made the leap from scientist to artist, devoting herself first to a long-time interest, printmaking. Then, in 1986, she began experimenting with jewellery design. Colourful and lively, with simple three-dimensional forms, her first pieces, which she called “Plastic Work”, resemble little mobiles. In the years following, Yung explored crochet and lace techniques, sparingly incorporating crystals and semi-precious stones. These collections, titled “Olympian Offerings”, “Dreaming Pharaoh” and “Gossamer” make reference to Greco-Roman and Egyptian mythology, as well as to Dutch and Flemish portraiture. Each of these works was always presented in specific contexts created by the artist. The requirements of her designs drove Yung to explore in other directions. In 2003, having received a grant from the “Artists-in-Residence for Research” program of the Canada Council for the Arts, she experimented with the sculptural potential of new industrial materials while working on implementing and developing manufacturing technologies, such as virtual and rapid prototyping. She used these new techniques (SLS, laser cut, SLA, ZCorp…) to create jewellery in silicone, felt, resin powder, nylon and glass… What surprises is the interaction of organic and geometric forms, reminding us of the artist’s early interest in microbiology.
One cannot help but be impressed by the constant pursuit of innovation, both aesthetic and formal, in Yung’s work. In 2002, she took part in “Materials and Colour”, a travelling exhibition organized by Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h in Canada and the US, and in 2006, showed her work at the gallery in a solo show titled “New Explorations”. The gallery has lost an important artist, and wishes to pay tribute to her with this new exhibition. Noel Guyomarc’h will give a lecture on Lily Yung’s career at the École de joaillerie de Montréal, on March 25, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.
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LILY YUNG Rings in resin ( Selective Laser Sintering ), 2010 |
BETH ALBER«Bottles were found in the gutter on my way to work, the gym, my university, travels in B.C. and Ontario. Colleagues, friends and family collected them for me. These used bottles are everywhere. Why? The ‘rings’ from this collection are a nudge to think about bigger issues: sources of water and landfill /recycling.»
Beth Alber currently teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. Active since 1974, Alber, jeweler and metalsmith, took part in numerous national exhibitions.
Rings in plastic |
LOIS BETTERIDGELois Etherington Betteridge CM, RCA, BFA (Kansas), MFA (Cranbrook) has been a studio silversmith for over fifty years and has earned wide recognition in Canada and abroad, culminating in her induction into the Order of Canada in 1997. She is also a Distinguished Member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, an elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, a recipient of the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in Crafts, an honorary Fellow of both the New Brunswick Craft School and the Ontario College of Art and Design, and recipient of the M. Joan Chalmers Award commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Ontario Crafts Council. Her work is to be found in private and public collections throughout the world, including the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Scottish Museum.
Rings in sterling silver and plastic |
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TERESA BIAGI «Creating 144 rings has been a journey between two boundaries: Nature, flowing and flexible, and Geometry, absolute and precise. In delving into the spaces between these two, within nine series based on diverse themes, “Organic Geometry” became the link between the two boundaries and the marriage between two opposites.»
orn in Tampico, Mexico, Teresa Biagi moves to Canada in 2001. Since 1982, she participated in a vast number of projects that incurred in diverse areas of the design discipline in Mexico and in Canada. Specialized in 3D CAD modeling software, she creates numerous designs for her own work as well as for jewelry retailers and manufacturers.
Ring in sterling silver |
WING-KI CHANA Grosse of Commitment –«The ring has been used as a symbol of commitment through centuries of our time. To honour this tradition and to pay homage to the beautiful and timeless ring form, 144 basic rings were used as building blocks to create this group of work.» Wing-Ki Chan received her education in Hong Kong, in the United States and in Canada. She earned her Bachelor in Fine Arts Degree from the University of Texas, at Austin and a master in Fine Arts Degree from the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design. She had pursued her career as a self-employed jeweler, focusing on one of a kind and limited production work and has exhibited her work in United States and Canada. Her passion in teaching jewelry developed since she was a teaching assistant during her graduate studies. Wing-Ki Chan joined the Jewelry school of Georges Brown College as a full-time professor in 1997. Ring in sterling silver |
LISE DOWNE
«These rings form part of a larger group, all of which were inspired by materials found in my immediate environment. This approach to making was an opportunity to explore design possibilities that were free from traditional considerations of value and durability. Many of the rings are fragile. Found objects – natural and manmade – were incorporated, as were materials from my home and studio. With rings on my mind, I began to see them everywhere. Artist painter from 1977 to 1986, Lise Downe moved in jewelry making and followed training classes at George Brown College and at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. Recipient of several awards of the Ontario Craft Council and Metal Art Guild of Ontario, Downe has since participated in numerous exhibitions in Canada. Alongside her practice, she is an art critic and has published several books of poetry. Rings in steel and rubber—wood |
LORI MYERS«Round Trip rings explore color, shape and texture contrast. While I think of a ring as a symbol, and representing a number of traditions, wearing a ring may also be a journey and provide focus for contemplation. So, consider the rolling motion of a ring and take a trip. Follow the ring, going around and around and around . . . in circles. Along a path. Up a stream. Beside the ocean.»
An award-winning goldsmith and jewelry designer, Lori Myers pursued intensive studies at Toronto’s George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, graduating at the top of her three-year full-time program. Influenced by music, fiction, film and a half-century long love of historical artfacts, she seeks contrasts caused by juxtaposition of shape, texture, shadow and light. Myers works with metals and gems to create objects to treasure, forever. Rings in silver, copper, 14kt gold |
MICHELE PERRAS
«For 2010 Rings, I explored relationships between impermanence and attraction. Using rare earth magnets and steel dust, these rings are always a little off kilter, unwieldy and have a life of their own. Aware of their environment, they shift their own states and shift the states of other objects.»
Michele Perras is a Canadian designer & researcher focusing on relationships between design, business & technology. She is Director of the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre, a non-profit organization dedicated to design leadership, applied research & innovation in Canada’s mobile industry. Over the past decade, Michele has worked with a wide range of organizations in academia, non-profit & private sectors, providing leadership, facilitation & program development. She has spoken at international conferences on mobile and locative media, entrepreneurialism & design. Her background is in material culture and goldsmithing and she is sessional faculty at OCAD University. She has exhibited her work nationally & internationally.
Ring in silver and magnets |
SARAH TROPERSarah Troper received a BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design (Jewellery Design & Metalsmithing 2000) and an MFA from State U of NY at New Paltz (Metal 2008). She spent 3 years as an artist-in-residence at Harbourfront Centre’s metal studio. Sarah has exhibited extensively, in Canada & internationally. She has received awards & honours from Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Crafts Council, State University of New York at New Paltz and Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. Sarah resides in Toronto where she teaches and maintains an active studio practice. Ring in paper and rubber |
PAMELA RITCHIE«For 2010 Rings, I revisited a theme explored in 2003. At the time I was caring for my mother and thinking about motherhood, hers and mine. With this in mind I experimented with materials and processes used by children making craft projects with their moms. While current methods have deviated, the overall intent is the same. Many results are like the haphazard bouquets we often make for our mothers when we are young.»Pamela Ritchie is an artist-jeweler based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her studies include an MFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and postgraduate research work in Norway supported by a scholarship from the Norwegian Government. Ritchie’s work has been exhibited in group and solo shows spanning three decades, throughout North America, Australia, Japan, Korea and Europe, and has regularly been featured in catalogues and periodicals. Major institutional collectors include the Canadian Museum of Civilization; the Kunstindustrimuseum, Norway; and the Nova Scotia Art Bank. As an advocate for Canadian jewelry, she has lectured in Canada, England, USA, and Korea. In addition to her art practice, Pamela Ritchie is currently Professor of Jewellery and Chair of Craft at NSCAD University, in Halifax. Last November, the gallery hosted her most recent collection With-In.
Ring in silver and plastic |
TIANA ROEBUCK«For this exhibition I chose to work with basic materials that are reminiscent of craft projects from my childhood. From the basics, cotton, thread and paper, to the novelty of “Shrinky Dink” plastic, these materials are processed and transformed through wrapping, knotting and stitching into small series of design explorations.» Tiana Roebuck is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design with a BFA in Jewellery and Metalsmithing and a former resident of the Craft Studio at Harbourfront Centre. Her work consists of wearable jewellery, non-wearable sculptural pieces and installations utilizing textile techniques, photographic imagery and narratives of family, familiarity and relationships. Repetition, scale and pattern emerge in her work through a vocabulary of movements, small stories told through layers, folds and cuts. Most recently she has been exploring these themes and processes in a series of stop motion animation videos and installations. She is currently in her final year of studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan pursuing an MFA in Fiber. Ring in cotton and paper |
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ANNEKE VAN BOMMEL «Tree Rings are a series of hand built porcelain rings that explore the ecological issues of deforestation, abandonment, the passage of time and memory. Each ring, individually constructed, is a little “tree ghost” or a symbol of what once was.» Anneke van Bommel is a graduate of NSCAD University (BFA 2001) Halifax NS, and former artist in residence at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto ON. She is the recipient of various grants and awards including the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Crafts Council and the Canada Council of the Arts. She exhibits her work internationally, and currently supplies multiple galleries across North America with her work. Her work has been published in a number of magazines, both online and in print, and in Lark Books’ 1000 Rings and 500 Brooches.Anneke has taught as session faculty at Ontario College of Art and Design, and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. She currently teaches at George Brown College and has an active studio practice in downtown Toronto. Rings in porcelain |
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Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h 4836 boulevard St-Laurent, Montréal (Québec),H2T 1R5 Téléphone : 514-840-9362 Courriel : info@galerienoelguyomarch.com |