Golden Clogs, Dutch Mountains and In Situ :: October 15 – December 7, 2007 :: Reception: October 24, 5–7 pm :: Parallax Symposium: October 27, 2007 :: Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art, 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA :: Artists.

Golden Clogs, Dutch Mountains and In Situ, are two exhibitions that investigate jewelry and personal objects. Divergent approaches to the implied built-in context stimulate thought about our relationship to adornment and the body. Because these explorations use jewelry as a point of departure there is an assumed function for the work; how these two groups employ this corporeal context illustrates a fundamental difference in cultured perspective.

Building on the contemporary Dutch jewelry exhibition, Golden Clogs, Dutch Mountains, curated by Dutch artist Andrea Wagner, MassArt has organized a “response” to the Dutch tradition: In Situ, featuring five American small metals artists who push the notions of what is jewelry further—from adorning the body towards the realm of enveloping site-specific installation. The combination of these two exhibitions creates a dialogue about the use of materials and the impact of context, in a global art world. Included in the exhibition are precious metals, photography, video/performance, interactive site-specific installation, and sculpture. With the respective differences of vantage that these two groups of artists have we can see this essential element as an international, multi-media conversation about jewelry.

These exhibitions have been supported in part by the Consulate General of the Netherlands, New York; Koo de Kir, Boston; the Mondriaan Foundation; Ornamentum Gallery - Hudson, New York; and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

PARALLAX: The apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points. In conjunction with the exhibition will be Parallax, a one-day symposium to discuss the exhibition on view and the state of the international jewelry world today. Golden Clogs curator Andrea Wagner and Dutch artist Iris Eichenberg, and Katja Prins will speak about their work and experiences with American artists Lauren Fensterstock, and Deb Todd Wheeler; IN SITU curator Joe Wood will moderate. There will also be a gallery tour (with exhibiting artists who are able to attend), and a special gallery reception and lunch for participants.