ABOUT THE ARTIST

New York artist, John Iversen combines the Old World tradition of fine goldsmithing with New World artistic liberty. His family roots are in Germany, which he left at the age of seventeen to enter a four-year apprenticeship in goldsmithing in Vancouver. Returning to Germany as an independent student at Hanau’s famed Staatliche Zeichen Academy and taking courses in basic design, enameling and silversmithing, John continued his technical training as he developed his creative voice. Moving to New York in the late 70’s John continued his evolution and introduced a diverse range of themes into his work. The structure and simplicity of each piece show that John knows when each piece is ready, complete in itself without embellishment.

John says of his work and process; “To make beautiful and expressive work, my approach is the same, whether I am designing a one-of-a-kind piece or a production piece of jewelry. What distinguishes the production work is that the basic form can be reproduced. Then a lot of complex and intricate handwork goes into completing the piece. The actual concept for a new idea occurs in a split second. I draw a lot, which only leads to more ambivalence about the initial design. It’s at the workbench, experimenting with materials and technique, that the idea takes shape. The joy of designing comes from working out the technicalities of how a piece is put together or how to actually make something I visualized. I usually start a body of work very unconsciously with a very rough piece. It is just the spontaneous expression that matters”.

ABOUT THE WORK

Process and material combined with his intuitive hands-on approach, inspire John’s jewelry. Responding to trends in contemporary architecture, John reveals the qualities inherent in his materials, paying particular attention to surfaces and finishes. He explores the possibilities for color and texture in each material, discovering a new way of bending or stretching it, or a new finish.

John works with enamel, precious metals, pearls, bronze and iron. He uses both casting and construction to create his works.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2007 SOFA Chicago, Patina Gallery exhibitor
2007 "What Lies Beneath," group exhibition curated by Allison Barnett, Patina Gallery
2005 “Similar in Nature,” Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1999, “International Enamel Exhibition”, Kreis Museum Zons, Domagen, Germany
1997, “Blue August”, Solo Show, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
1996, “Rotunda”, The Museum for Fine Art, Dortmand, Germany
1995, “Double/Vision”, Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Art, Racine, WI

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

The Renwick Gallery, Museum for Fine Art, Washington, D.C.
The Museum voor Hedenaagse Kunst, Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Rhode Island Museum of Fine Art, Providence, RI
The Art Museum of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY