American Art Jewelry Today

Art jewellery has more affinity with the fine arts than with many-carated diamond bracelets.

Yet what other form of fine art can be worn? Jewellery is America's most provocative new art form.

In the past few decades it has bloomed prodigiously, thanks to the talents of a richly diverse group of practitioners who have explored the range of the art and the possibilities of the craft.

Although European work in this field has been well-documented, this is the first ever record of art jewellery in America, and the book provides an overview of the exciting new developments that have taken place.

The 50 artist/jewelers documented here, among them Boris Bally, Eva Eisler, William Harper, Kim Overstreet and Lisa Spiros, are the best of a growing number of jewellers who exploit jewellery's mythological, spiritual and symbolic associations for their art.

Each individual profile is illustrated with examples of the artist's work, all in full colour.

The author presents the background to the present work, discussing the definition of art jewellery and exploring the ways in which these unusual art forms perform on the body.

Susan Grant Lewin is a design writer and curator. She is Creative Director of the Formica Corporation and was formerly Editor of "Home Furnishings Daily" and Architecture Editor of "House Beautiful".