Press Room

LOOT: MAD ABOUT JEWELRY, APRIL 8–13

New York, NY (April 9, 2019)

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) has awarded Mariko Kusumoto and Joo Hyung Park the fourth annual LOOT Acquisition Prize, on the occasion of the nineteenth edition of LOOT: MAD About Jewelry, the Museum’s annual exhibition and sale of contemporary jewelry. This year’s prize will result in the acquisition of two jewelry works for the Museum’s permanent collection, Kusumoto’s Blue Bubble Brooch (2019) and Joo Hyung Park’s Confluence 43 (Necklace) (2017).

Awarded annually by a jury, the LOOT Acquisition Prize recognizes a LOOT jewelry artist or designer whose work reflects maturity in artistry and concept, exhibits both a superior and an experimental understanding of materials and form, and demonstrates expertise in technique and execution. MAD’s permanent collection includes nearly one thousand pieces of jewelry, spanning the mid-twentieth century to the present day. 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 LOOT Acquisition Prize was chosen by LOOT Co-Chairs Joan Hornig, Marsy Mittlemann, and Barbara Tober; LOOT Curator Bryna Pomp; Board Chair Michele Cohen; Assistant Curator Barbara Paris Gifford; and Assistant Manager of Curatorial Affairs Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy.        

Mariko Kusumoto

Born in Kumamoto, Japan, and based in Massachusetts, Mariko Kusumoto prevails upon fabric to construct forms of elegant simplicity and evocative imagery. Her designs are incorporated into jewelry and sculptural pieces, as well as in collaborations with fashion designers; in January 2019, her work appeared on the Jean Paul Gaultier catwalk at Paris Haute Couture. Fascinated by the potential of different materials, Kusumoto strives to bring out each fabric’s inherent characteristics and beauty. Using a proprietary heat-setting technique, she gives the fabric a new identity through reshaping it into three-dimensional forms. In addition to finding inspiration in the material itself, she is motivated by the process of experimentation, during which accidental discoveries lead to new ideas.

Joo Hyung Park

Joo Hyung Park was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. After studying jewelry and metalsmithing at Rhode Island School of Design and the Royal College of Art, London, she returned to Seoul, where she runs her own studio, specializing in metal, wood, and lacquer (urushi). Each piece of wood is unique, notes Park, and as she carves, two patterns emerge: “One is the pattern the wood and I created together, and the other is a color pattern created from peeling improvised layers of natural lacquer accumulated over the wood. The two patterns meet on my work, and they interflow, coexist, and merge.”

In 2018, the LOOT Acquisition Prize was jointly awarded to Isabelle Molénat and Sarran Youkongdee. 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. Alena Willroth, who was awarded the inaugural LOOT Acquisition Prize in 2016, a returning artist this year.

PUBLIC EXHIBITION AND SALE HOURS

Entrance to LOOT is included in the price of Museum admission: $16 general; $14 for seniors; $12 for students; free for MAD members and children under 18 years of age. To purchase tickets online, visit madmuseum.org/visit.

ABOUT CORPORATE SPONSOR: PAOLO COSTAGLI

Paolo Costagli New York returns as corporate sponsor of LOOT. The fine jewelry brand recognized for its sophisticated, modern, and distinctly bold designs, will debut Onde, its new collection of 18kt gold and diamond jewelry at LOOT 2019. The Onde collection, inspired by the waves of the Venetian Lagoon, introduces a variety of rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Featuring Paolo Costagli'ssignature bold geometrics with a touch of fluidity, the collection presents effortlessly chic precious jewelry fit for all occasions, from everyday wear to a formal soirée.

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.

Photo: Mariko Kusumoto, LOOT Co-Chair Marsy Mittlemann, and Joo Hyung Park. Photo by Jenna Bascom Photography.