Inspired Jewelry

Illustrations: 198 col

This lavishly illustrated book presents outstanding examples of one-of-a kind jewellery from the 1940s to the present drawn from the collection of the Museum of Arts & Design in New York. The 288 pages guide the reader through a fascinating diversity of materials, technique and approaches that make contemporary jewellery visually exciting and intellectually stimulating. No longer dependent on gold and gemstones, these creations demonstrate that commonplace aluminium, rubber, glass, paper, thumbtacks, and even salvaged gun triggers can be made into dazzling jewellery.

The international nature of today's jewellery is fully represented with established luminaries as well as emerging artists in the field from the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia including Gijs Bakker, Robert Ebendorf, Hermann Jünger, Sam Kramer, Otto Künzli, Linda MacNeil, Margaret DePatta, Bruno Martinazzi, Giò Pomodoro, Wendy Ramshaw, Art Smith, Kiff Slemmons, David Watkins, and Anna Maria Zanella.

The book contains a foreword by Holly Hotchner, Director of the Museum of Arts & Design; essay by Ursula Ilse-Neuman, Jewellery Curator of the Museum of Arts & Design, surveying major trends in contemporary jewellery over the past 75 years; and over 200 full-colour illustrations of works from the Museum's Permanent Collection.

Ursula Ilse-Neuman is Jewellery Curator at the Museum of Arts & Design, New York. She joined the Museum in 1992 and has curated numerous exhibitions in all media. Ms. Ilse-Neuman is the author of numerous publications and has juried many competitions and lectured widely both in the United States and abroad. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture. She is a member of the Editorial Board of Directors of Metalsmith magazine.