Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection

 

This exhibition was on display from November 10, 2017 to May 28, 2018.

Some objects in this exhibition may not be viewable on the website due to copyright or other usage restrictions, or because there is no digitized image for the object.

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Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection
Spanning the worlds of design, craft, and art, the contemporary jewelry in this gift from the Susan Grant Lewin collection captures the diversity and achievements of over 100 jewelers from eighteen countries. For nearly four decades, Lewin has passionately supported this evolving field, cultivating personal relationships with established and emerging jewelers from across the globe.
The earliest works in the exhibition are by mid-20th-century American and European pioneers who pushed the boundaries of form and material and set the stage for future developments. These groundbreaking works are followed by highly innovative abstract compositions based on simple geometric shapes or mathematical engineering principles and others more organic in nature. A selection of painterly two-dimensional pieces serve as small canvases for the body. A major section presents content-driven jewelry that draw on themes of memory and metaphor, popular culture, the human body, and nature. Highly conceptual works comment on humankind’s desires and foibles that have long motivated our passion for jewelry.
The value of each piece lies in the unique idea of the jeweler as expressed through a mastery of materials, whether commonplace or costly, and innovative techniques that range from traditional metalsmithing to assemblage to computer-aided design. The inventive new forms prompt us to question jewelry’s history and social function, conventional standards of beauty, and relationship of scale to the human body. Extravagant metals and gemstones frequently take on a subordinate role in the designs—thus subverting the traditional notion of preciousness in jewelry.
Additional contextual information and insight into works from the Susan Grant Lewin collection may be explored at the digital tables.
Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection is made possible in part by the Rotasa Fund, the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), Gallery Loupe, Sienna Patti, William P. Short III, in memory of Nancy Jean Fulop Short, Helen W. Drutt English, Kim and Al Eiber, and Ornamentum Gallery.

  • Brooch
  • molded, pressed, folded and stippled gold sheet with applied pigment.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-1
  • Ring
  • gold with applied resin.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-2
  • Ring
  • gold.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-3
  • Blinker Brooch
  • gold, acquamarine, pvc-laminated newspaper.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-4
  • Kinetic ring Ring
  • stainless steel, synthetic sapphire.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-5
  • Postpriori II Brooch
  • enamel on electroformed copper, silver, gold.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-6
  • Bracelet
  • sawn, sheet plastic bands (hosta-glas) wrapped in iron wire.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-7
  • Cono Brooch
  • stoneware (gres ceramic), gold with neillo (alloy of silver,copper, and lead....
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-9
  • Brooch
  • gold, cut coral.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-10
  • Ingredients Necklace
  • pyrite, glass, gold, wool, kevlar.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-11
  • Dekorationswut Bracelet
  • silver, enamel, mirrors, paint.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-12
  • Dekorationswut Ring
  • oxidized silver, swarovski chain, lacquer.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-13
  • Coldstar Necklace
  • silver, molded plastic, lacquer.
  • Promised gift to the Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian....
  • 7067.14.2016
  • Black Sectional Neckpiece
  • 3d-printed glass-filled and dyed nylon, silver.
  • Promised gift to the Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian....
  • 7067.15.2016
  • Brooch
  • sawn and mounted silver.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-14
  • Necklace
  • silver, brass.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2017-2-1
  • Ring
  • silver, gold.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-16
  • fast ASHANTI Ring And Mold
  • H x diam.: 1.6 × 3.1 cm (5/8 × 1 1/4 in.) H x diam.: 9.7 × 5.3 cm (3 13/16....
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-17-a/c
  • NY NY...right before my eyes Ring
  • electroformed copper on stones and earth.
  • Promised gift to the Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian....
  • 7067.21.2016
  • Found at...Made in... Necklace
  • wood, beads, rope, polymer clay (porcelana fria).
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-18
  • FOREVERRING Ring
  • hammered and patinated copper.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2017-4-1
  • Weiss Brooch
  • porcelain, leather, silver, thread.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-21
  • Bird Slip-on Brooch
  • sheet copper, electroformed copper, ribbon (silk).
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-22
  • X Necklace And Stand
  • oxidized nails, metal wire, silver, steel, wood, perspex.
  • Promised gift to the Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian....
  • 7067.29a,b.2016
  • Spring Steel Series Necklace
  • stainless steel, cold connections.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-24
  • Egg Pendant Necklace
  • hollow formed and fabricated silver and stainless steel.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-26
  • Double Cylinder Pendant Necklace
  • fabricated oxidized sterling silver, hand drilled and perforated yellow gold....
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-27
  • Necklace
  • glass, bent, flattened, and welded copper wire, leather.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-28
  • Spirit With 3 Legs Brooch
  • woven silver and gold, agate.
  • The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
  • 2016-34-29