Press Room

New York, NY (June 30, 2010)

One of MAD’s most popular and defining events, LOOT!2010—a cross-section of the most exciting and cutting-edge jewelry designs made by artists from around the world--offers the public the chance to purchase contemporary art jewelry directly from its creators. More than 65 leading American and international jewelry artists, specially selected by MAD’s curators, will be represented. LOOT!2010 will open with a gala evening preview on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 to benefit the Museum’s exhibition and education programs. The selling show will run through Tuesday, October 26, 2010, and be accompanied by a full weekend of programs, including artists’ talks and demonstrations in the MAD artists’ studios.

LOOT!2010 Spotlights Rarely Seen Dutch and Native American Artists

Over the course of the past three decades, Dutch and Native American jewelry artists have been among the most innovative and creative in the world. In The Netherlands, a jewelry design revolution began in the late 1960s, when a diverse group of goldsmiths and designers turned away from precious metals and gemstones and began crafting jewelry out of aluminum, stainless steel, and rubber, materials that were often taken directly from industrial or domestic applications. Then as now, new currents in contemporary art and design served as their inspiration. Among the 15 Dutch contemporary jewelry makers featured in LOOT!2010 are Beppe Kessler who mixes together such unusual materials as alabaster, resin, and wood in her tactile and sculptural works; Iris Nieuwenburg whose elegant jewels are largely inspired by 18th-century chandeliers and picture frames and other decorative elements of that period; and Truike Verdegaal who combines such metals as titanium and gold with glass to capture and transmit light in her brooches and earrings. Many of the artists will be in attendance for the show.

“The established and emerging Dutch jewelers featured by LOOT!2010 characterize their generation through works that are full of high spirit and imagination, while maintaining the country’s deserved reputation for outstanding mastery of technique and materials,” says Holly Hotchner, MAD’s director. “Their neckpieces, brooches, bracelets, and rings amaze and intrigue with designs that acknowledge the past but express contemporary conceptual and technical concerns. Always with the human body in mind, these innovative pieces are supremely wearable, connecting the wearer, the viewer, and the act of making in a stimulating discourse. ”The Dutch section of LOOT!2010 is made possible in part by The Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam.

The show’s Native American jewelry artists were selected by Ellen Taubman, guest curator of MAD’s ongoing series of exhibitions on innovative and non-traditional Native American art Changing Hands: Art without Reservation. Like the Dutch, these artists have ventured far beyond tradition. “They provide a sense of the field’s spectrum,” says Taubman, who continues, “A number of them, such as Gail Bird and Yazzie Johnson are known for their unorthodox mixture of semi-precious stones and unusually shaped pearls. Richard Chavez from San Felipe pueblo in New Mexico is renowned for his intricate and delicate inlays of coral, turquoise, and lapis lazuli, set into broad cuffs and dramatic brooches. Hopi jewelry artist Verma Nequatewa, niece of the legendary Charles Loloma, creates bold architectural compositions in brilliant semi-precious stones. These artists are among the most sought-after among connoisseurs. They don’t normally show their work outside of the Indian markets and then there are long lines to purchase what they make. This is a remarkable opportunity.”

MAD Board Member and Co-Chair of LOOT!2010 Michele Cohen adds: “It has been a great pleasure to work on this exciting exhibition and museum benefit, especially to get to know the work of such incredibly talented artists from around the world. Considering the variety and quality of the works chosen, I am sure there will be something wonderful for every taste.” LOOT2010’s other Co-Chair is the noted collector Donna Schneir, and the Vice-Chair is the extraordinary jewelry artist Robert Lee Morris.

A Global Group of Artists Selling Works at a Range of Prices

Among the international assortment of artists displaying and selling their unique pieces at LOOT!2010 will be such notables as Anastasia Azure, Pat Flynn, John Iversen, Jocelyn Kolb, Joyce J. Scott, Jennifer Trask, Giorgio Vigna, and Kiwon Wang. Pieces range in price from $300 to $30,000, with $2,700 the average. There will be works in both traditional and experimental materials.