Press Room

The annual exhibition and pop-up sale in New York City will offer contemporary jewelry designs from May 4–8, 2024.

New York, NY (March 7, 2024)

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) today announced the return of MAD About Jewelry, an annual benefit show and sale of contemporary jewelry. The 2024 edition will feature 50 designers from around the world during a five-day event open to the public and benefitting the Museum’s ongoing exhibition and educational programs.

With 20 countries represented, the designers selected this year represent the world’s most innovative and creative artists working in the medium of contemporary jewelry today. For over two decades, MAD About Jewelry has become a destination for jewelry lovers seeking distinct pieces imbued with an artist’s touch. The event, taking place in a gallery of the Museum will offer myriad works available for sale and the opportunity to meet and engage with the makers.

“Now in its 24th year, MAD About Jewelry is an agenda-setting platform that celebrates innovation and craft. We are thrilled to bring this extraordinary line-up of visionary artists shaping the world of contemporary jewelry to the Museum of Arts and Design,” said Bryna Pomp, Director, MAD About Jewelry.

Like any art form, the work displayed at MAD About Jewelry is a reflection of timely subjects impacting culture at large. Sustainability is once again a focus for many of the participating designers who leverage recycled materials to create new and alluring designs. They include Amal Chao (recycled roofing material), Anna Bonino (recycled medical textbooks and encyclopedias), Francesca Mo (tree bark), Hillary Jackson (sustainably raised flowers and butterflies), Isabelle Azaïs (recycled single-use bags and Mylar balloons) Jianhui (recycled multimedia materials), Tiziana Redavid (repurposed industrial springs), Valérie Hangel (repurposed silk neckties and kimonos), and Viola Pineider (recycled wood from salvaged furniture), among others.

In addition to classic materials such as gold and silver, the use of unconventional and technologically innovative materials is a perennial theme at MAD About Jewelry. This year there are several artists such as Mariangela Murgia and Alberto Catalano, Orlando Fernandez Flores and Lucia de Conti, and Sara Ortuzar whose work uses sophisticated 3D-printed nylon and polylactic acid. Meanwhile, artists like Nana Watanabe fuse tradition with modernity, actualizing craft with computerized printing in her embroidery work.

First introduced in 2023, MAD will offer a mentorship program for participating artists with the goal of providing long-term career advice. The program involves leading experts from various fields from marketing to merchandising. Three-time MAD About Jewelry participant Tara Locklear will serve as Artist Liaison throughout the course of the 2024 program, sharing her distinct expertise with participating artists.

“MAD About Jewelry is a singular force, creating a global network of contemporary jewelry artists and a legacy of unbridled creativity. We are proud to play a role in the story of these creative luminaries and of the work they will share with museum visitors this year,” said Michele Cohen, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Museum of Arts and Design.

Returning as a lively brunch event this year, MAD will host an opening benefit event on May 4, 2024, featuring first access for patrons to meet the artists and acquire their designs. The festivities will include a special Broadway performance and honor the 2024 MAD About Jewelry Award recipients–legendary costume designer and stylist Patricia Field known for her work on “Sex and the City” and “Emily in Paris” and leading American accessories designer Lele Sadoughi whose brand fans include Sarah Jessica Parker, Zendaya, Kate Middleton, and more. The honorees were selected for their career-long history of championing extraordinary artistry in jewelry.

MAD About Jewelry Hours

Sunday, May 5, 2024: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Monday, May 6, 2024: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Tuesday, May 7, 2024: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Wednesday, May 8, 2024: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Free with Museum admission

Opening Benefit Brunch
Saturday, May 4, 2024
11:30 am

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. For more information, visit madmuseum.org.