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“Brilliant and Black: A Jewelry Renaissance” at Sotheby’s, New York.
“Jewelry artists of African descent have been largely ignored in favor of ‘African Inspired’ design over the last century, despite the fact that so many of the resources to make jewelry come from the continent,” said Melanie Grant in a statement. The author of Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry has partnered with Sotheby’s to spotlight 21 Black jewelry designers from around the world. The first-of-its-kind selling exhibition features more than 60 items, from ca. 1950 to present, priced from $1,500 to $1 million. Expect West Indian–inspired brass-copper bracelets and necklace belts from the late Winifred Mason Chenet (credited as the first commercial Black jeweler in the U.S.), artist Rashid Johnson’s gold and titanium signet rings (part of his limited-edition Lizworks series, “Anxious Men”), and many pieces specially created for the occasion.
Location: Sotheby’s New York, 1334 York Avenue (online at Sotheby’s Buy Now online marketplace through October 10)
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m.–5p.m.
By Christine Ajudua on 14th September 2021.
