Barbara Paris Gifford – författare

Jewelry Stories highlights the Museum of Arts and Design's unique, world-class collection of studio and contemporary art jewellery from the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia, a medium that comprises one-third of its permanent collection. Artists working in this field create jewellery rooted in sculptural experimentation and the concept of art as a wearable medium. The pieces featured represent the history of art jewellery as told from a largely US perspective. Jewellery artists are inspired by such subjects as found objects and materials, as well as by politics and pressing social issues, allowing for the development of unique, personal narratives in each piece. Each of the jewellery stories is written by an expert on the artist or subject, thus the book also celebrates the contributions they have made to the field.Published to accompany an exhibition at Museum of Arts and Design, New York (US), on permanent display.

Welcome to a private tour of the home of American collector Susan Beech. Since 1991, Beech has been transforming her house in Tiburon, California, into an extraordinary environment, in which the themes of her extensive jewellery collection interact with craft and fine art, all against a backdrop of Art Deco glamour. Beauty is entwined with darker forces of death and decay, and glimpses of pleasure are complicated by a nod to the surreal and uncanny. The result is a wholly original and fascinating stage for a major collection of contemporary jewellery thoughtfully assembled over four decades.Lavishly illustrated and featuring four essays exploring Beech’s activities as a collector and wearer as well as the key themes of her pieces, the publication Feast: Contemporary Jewelry from the Susan Beech Collection marks the donation of the collection to the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, in Washington, DC, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.