ABOUT THE ARTIST

British jewelry artist Jane Adam has been exploring the medium of anodized aluminum for more than twenty years. She is considered a pioneer in the use of aluminum as an jewelry artist’s material. With a Masters in Metalwork and Jewelry from London’s Royal College of Art, Adam’s success as an artist, teacher and lecturer has garnered her worldwide recognition.

Jane Adam’s work possesses qualities that transcend traditional notions of “precious “ or “valuable”. Each piece is unique, exploring the subtle way that colors blend, as well as the texture and dynamic of mark-making. She expertly contrasts the decorative surface, subtly or boldly marked, with the coolness and permanence of the aluminum itself. Like an alchemist, she seems to transform this common, non-precious metal into an extraordinary, shimmering new material. Beyond this, Adams is very passionate about the individual’s experience of her jewelry: “In one sense, jewelry is not functional. However, it does fulfill a profound need for self-expression…there is a magical moment when the right piece finds the right owner. When jewelry is not being worn, it may appear as an interesting object but its potential is unfulfilled.”

ABOUT THE WORK

Jane Adam works with anodized aluminum because it is light, durable, and inexpensive, but primarily because of the freedom it allows her in making colors and marks.

Anodizing is an electrochemical treatment in which the metal becomes the positive element in an electrical cell, suspended in an electrolyte of sulfuric acid solution. Through this process, aluminum grows a thin, hard, yet porous surface layer of aluminum oxide that can be permanently colored with dyes, much like textiles or paper. For example, Adam makes her bangle bracelets from an anodized aluminum sheet that was block printed with inks, immersion dyed, and sealed. The strips are then milled to stretch them – creating the cracks and the subtle crazed surface – and finally, formed into circles.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design, New York, NY
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
Department of Jewelry, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Helsinki, Finland

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2006 “The British Are Coming,” Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2005 Contemporary British Jewelry, Gallery Bielak, Krakow Gallery of Art, Legnica, Poland
2005 Celebrating 30 Years, Craft Council Shop at Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
2001 Jewelry by the Top Ten, Contemporary Applied Arts, London, UK
1998-99 “Metamorphosis”, Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague and Brohan Museum, Berlin, Germany
1998 “Jewellery Moves”, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland