The Gallery Collection: Art History Jewelry
The Gallery Collection is jewelry inspired by art history, long walks in monumental museums, and the little-told stories of the images and symbols that shape our view of the past and present. It by no means even begins to encompass the vast history of art, which spans every inhabited place great or small across the globe and includes every culture on our diverse planet. Consider it more like a room—a small gallery—wherein I’ve hung a handful of meaningful works to contemplate and paid homage to them with my own method of interpretive reproduction.
Given the time, assets and freedom, I could have never stopped making this collection; that is to say that if your favorite artist isn’t featured, well, neither is mine. I also explicitly chose works by artists who were active in the early 20th Century and before, as I felt uncomfortable re-interpreting works by living or recently living artists for sale.
This collection is dedicated to my brother Steven, who was an avid reader and lover of all things history and art. He especially loved Gauguin, and as you’ll learn from my Van Gogh-inspired necklace, had an affinity for a certain painting by the artist.
Frida Kahlo-Inspired Hand Hoop Earrings
Frida Kahlo-Inspired Hand Hoop Earrings
With Frida Kahlo’s bold dissection of herself, the way she painted pain and suffering, culture and ideas, into self-portraits that stared brazenly and honestly back at her, it’s safe to say she created one of the boldest, most-recognizable styles in art history. The life behind her art was so compelling, it’s no wonder why she’s the favorite artist of so many people the world over. She was my favorite artist for years beginning in adolescence, and she’s still one of my very favorites; in my closet somewhere is a study I painted of one of her works in high school.
These cast bronze and sterling silver earrings were inspired by a pair of earrings she actually owned and painted into her work in Self Portrait, Dedicated to Dr Eloesser, a 1940 work depicting her in the pair of oversized hand-shaped earrings that she was also photographed wearing. This self-portrait is a widely circulated painting of hers, and Frida fans will recognize the nod to the hand earrings, which were given to her by fellow artist Pablo Picasso when she visited Paris.
These cast bronze or sterling silver hands are left and right hands to mirror each other and suspend from 1-inch wide hypoallergenic 14k gold-filled or sterling silver hoops.