Press Room

LOOT: MAD ABOUT JEWELRY
April 16 – April 21, 2018

Opening Night Benefit: April 16, 2018
Featuring the announcement of the LOOT Acquisition Prize
and presentation of LOOT Awards honoring Carolee Lee, Loreen Arbus,
and Michael and Karen Rotenberg

New York, NY (March 16, 2018)

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) is pleased to present LOOT: MAD About Jewelry, its annual five-day exhibition and sale of contemporary art jewelry, with all proceeds benefiting the Museum’s programs and exhibitions. Now in its 18th edition, LOOT remains the only event in North America to provide the public with the opportunity to meet and directly acquire contemporary pieces from the most skilled, innovative, and creative jewelry artists working globally today. Open to the public from April 17 through April 21, this year’s LOOT features a curated selection of jewelry by thirty-five international emerging and established artists.

A press preview and walkthrough will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018, at 3 pm.

“LOOT remains the ultimate contemporary art jewelry shopping experience in New York,” said LOOT 2018 Chair Marsy Mittlemann. “No other event offers such a variety of expressive and original jewelry from around the world. We are proud to showcase the work of contemporary jewelry artists to the public, providing a platform for their creative practice, while supporting the Museum’s education and exhibition programs.”

“The 2018 artists we invited stood out for their inspiring craftsmanship and inventiveness,” said LOOT Curator Bryna Pomp. “The jewelry featured incorporates a wide range of remarkable non-traditional materials, from crocheted textiles, ecologically tie-dyed silk, felt, leather, and resin to 3D-printed nylon, titanium, safety pins, bicycle tires, X-ray film, papier-mâché, and wood.”

LOOT 2018 welcomes thirty-five artists from fifteen countries, most of whom have never been shown in New York. In addition to artists from Argentina (2), Denmark (2), France (5), Germany (2), Greece (3), Israel (1), Italy (4), Japan (1), Romania (1), South Korea (1), Spain (1), Switzerland (1), United Kingdom (8), and the United States (2), LOOT will feature an artist from Thailand for the first time in the event’s history.

LOOT: MAD About Jewelry reflects the Museum of Arts and Design’s commitment to the exploration of materials and process, as well as its long-standing presentation of jewelry as an art form. MAD is the only American museum with a gallery dedicated to the display of both temporary jewelry exhibits and its own collection of contemporary and modern studio and art jewelry.

ARTIST HIGHLIGHTS

• The works of Italian jeweler Gian Luca Bartellone recall the style of the Baroque era. Yet Bartellone forges new paths with daring combinations of materials: gold, gemstones, and silk are united with paper or papier-mâché. Though clearly unconventional, the mix of materials in his work has become familiar for this academically trained goldsmith.
• Based in London, Tania Clarke Hall is an award-winning jeweler working in leather. Inspired by the built environment, Japanese design, and her early studies in chemistry, Clarke Hall considers leather to be her “perfect creative playmate,” and her jewelry celebrates the overwhelming potential of this natural material.
• Greek designer Tina Karageorgi’s LOOT collection focuses on porcelain. Precious and semiprecious stones and patinated and gilded silver complete the palette of materials. Her iconography looks at flora and fauna captured in vivid motion and vibrant color. Beyond her experience of the natural world, Karageorgi draws inspiration from a personal reading of Old Master paintings and Far Eastern artistic traditions.
• Swiss designer Roland Kawczynski’s creations take their inspiration mainly from nature, with influences of architecture and poetry. The collection ‘‘Brume d’Automne,’’ featured in this exhibition, includes necklaces, rings, brooches, and headpieces, in which titanium, silver, bronze, and gemstones come together to reveal the entire universe of the creator. Pearls and natural elements covered with flocking transform these jewels and give them a touch of modernity. 
• Italian artist Stefania Lucchetta applies 3D software and rapid prototyping techniques to unexpected materials including polyamide, biocompatible resins, Stellite, and titanium. The resulting sculptural pieces challenge the preconception that the artist and the machine are always at odds. Lucchetta continues to research the application of new technologies to jewelry design in her quest to create wearable signs and symbols that capture the essence of our times.
• A designer based in Glasgow, Lynne MacLachlan creates jewelry that plays with light, space, and color. She takes an experimental approach with digital tools, exploring and pushing their capabilities, using bespoke software and 3D printing to realize complex forms.
• French jewelry designer Isabelle Molénat considers her jewels to be messengers, carrying stories about our heritage and linking us to other times. Her “Knots” collection represents the tying and resolution of these links, to understand their meaning and impact. Molénat works in silk and eco-prints her fabric using dye from carefully selected plants, which produce tannins that change through the seasons. She uses the dyed silk to make sheathed ribbons, which she then weaves to create wearable textile sculptures.
• Madrid-based designer Beatriz Palacios trained as a mining engineer before studying with professional jewelers. She started her design practice in 2011. Inspired by a variety of European art and design movements of the last century, her work has a conversational, whimsical quality.
• The daughter of an antiquarian, Italian jeweler Anna Porcu inherited a knowledge of antique artifacts and an eye for rarity and fineness to detail. She creates her own collection of jewelry using rare antique cameos. This will be Porcu’s fifth year at LOOT, which remains the only opportunity to purchase her work in New York.
• Israel-based designer Shenhav Russo uses the ancient technique of crochet to create intricate, delicate statement jewelry. Inspired by wide-open vistas and urban landscapes alike, she locates the true beauty of her art form in her ability to create anywhere, requiring nothing more than a spool of thread, gleaming natural stones or crystals, a crochet needle, and her imagination.
• Thai jeweler Sarran Youkongdee began his jewelry practice in 2008. Inspired by the rich culture and heritage of his birth country, he creates art to wear, characterized by flowers and an artistry that pays tribute to women past and present.

THE LOOT ACQUISITION PRIZE

Awarded annually by a jury, the LOOT Acquisition Prize seeks to recognize a LOOT jewelry artist whose work reflects a maturity in artistry and concept; exhibits both a superior and experimental understanding of materials and form; and demonstrates expertise in technique and execution. The 2018 jury is chaired by William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator Shannon R. Stratton, Assistant Curator Barbara Paris Gifford, and LOOT Curator Bryna Pomp. The 2018 LOOT Acquisition Prize will be awarded on April 16 during the Opening Benefit dinner.

The Museum of Arts and Design’s jewelry collection comprises more than nine hundred pieces of art jewelry from the mid-century to the present. The LOOT Acquisition Prize formalizes the Museum’s goal of enhancing its collection by acquiring jewelry from artists who have made significant contributions to the field and whose work provides historical context for MAD’s mid- to late-twentieth-century pieces, as well as from emerging artists who are an important force in the contemporary art jewelry scene.

The 2016 inaugural LOOT Acquisition Prize was awarded to Alena Willroth. In 2017, the prize was jointly awarded to Ute van der Plaats and Sunyoung Kim. Past LOOT artists who have had works acquired by the Museum include the well-established art jeweler Iris Nieuwenburg and the emerging jewelry artist Casey Sobel.

THE LOOT AWARD AND OPENING BENEFIT

Each year, the LOOT Award is presented to luminaries in the field of jewelry, including artists, collectors, and designers. This year’s honorees are Carolee Lee, Loreen Arbus, and Michael and Karen Rotenberg. Previous recipients include fashion icon Iris Apfel, collector Barbara Berger, jewelry designer Joan Hornig, fashion designer Kay Unger, and artists Joyce Scott and Axel Russmeyer.

The LOOT 2018 Chair is Marsy Mittlemann, and fashion designer Dennis Basso has joined the Opening Benefit Host Committee, which also includes Iris Apfel, Davina Benshetrit, Andi Potamkin Blackmore, Noreen Buckfire, Marian C. Burke, Kathy Chazen, Caroline Blackman Coakley, Michele Cohen, Paolo Costagli, Jessica Kagan Cushman, Gino Di Geso, Patti Dweck, Joan Hornig, Ann Kaplan, Judith Leiber, Shari Siadat Loeffler, Ella McHugh, Robert Lee Morris, Rebecca Moses, Linda Plattus, Polina Proshkina, Angela Sun, Barbara Tober, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Kay Unger, and Barbara Waldman.

The LOOT 2018 Opening Benefit takes place on Monday, April 16. The evening’s events include first access for patrons to meet the LOOT 2018 artists and acquire their designs; a cocktail reception; and a dinner honoring the LOOT 2018 Award recipients. The exhibition will be on view and cocktails served from 4:30 until 8:00 pm. The dinner, at MAD’s ROBERT restaurant, begins at 7:30 pm.

To purchase  tickets to the LOOT 2018 Opening Benefit, visit thestore.madmuseum.org/collections/loot-2018, or contact Rebekka Grossman at 212.299.7712 or rebekka.grossman@madmuseum.org.

NOTE TO EDITORS

A full list of the LOOT 2018 artists is included below. Bios and images of their work may be found at www.madmuseum.org/loot.

EXHIBITION AND SALE HOURS

LOOT takes place at the Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York City. Entrance to LOOT is included in the price of Museum admission.

LOOT 2018 Corporate Sponsor: Paolo Costagli

LOOT 2018 Media Sponsor: Avenue Magazine

ABOUT CORPORATE SPONSOR: PAOLO COSTAGLI

Paolo Costagli New York is a fine jewelry brand recognized for its sophisticated, modern, and distinctly bold designs. The essence of the Paolo Costagli brand is to be as current as the woman who wears it. At its core is the creativity and technical expertise of its founder, Paolo Costagli. The Italian landscape and architectural details of his upbringing in Florence and Venice are evident in his creations: clean geometries, an acute attention to proportions, and unique color combinations.

Regarded as an authority on color gemstones and rare diamonds, Costagli studied to become a Graduate Gemologist at the renowned Gemological Institute of America. He then pushed further, beyond the laboratory and standard course of studies, to experience firsthand the unearthing process. This unusual experience of formal studies combined with an applied knowledge formed a dynamic background, and Costagli has an understanding of the fine jewelry industry that is truly rare. His talents as a designer and expertise as a gemologist have been recognized by the most influential institutions in the industry. His iconic Brillante collection was awarded the Couture Design Award in the Gold Category the year that the collection debuted at the Couture Show. His gemstone creations are also celebrated for their unique settings and quality of materials, and his Eternitá capsule collection was awarded the InDesign Award in 2016.

The Paolo Costagli collection is so avant-garde in its design, executed at the most elevated level of craftsmanship while using the most exquisite materials, that it blurs the line dividing fine jewelry and art. A testament to this is a bracelet from the Brillante collection, part of the Museum of Arts and Design’s permanent collection. At LOOT this year, Paolo Costagli New York will be debuting never-before-seen bespoke jewels, as well as, a collection of their most iconic designs, including designs from the award-winning Brillante collection and renowned Florentine collection.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields and presents the work of artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill. Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving twenty-first-century innovation, and fosters a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.

#LOOT2018 @madmuseum

2018 LOOT ARTISTS