Toni Greenbaum – författare

Explore the wearable modern art of Art Smith, one of the world’s most celebrated 20th-century jewelers This striking jewelry coffee table book features 160 photos of more than 60 jewelry piecesMid-century modernist jeweler Art Smith (1917-1982) considered the human body to be as integral to his jewelry as the metals, wire, and semiprecious stones he used to make it, calling his necklaces “neck pieces” and his rings “hand decorations.” Bodyworks: The Jewelry of Art Smith presents 160 images, including previously unpublished design sketches and historic photographs alongside newly commissioned photography. Together, they offer a comprehensive visual record of Smith’s bold, fluid, and creative designs, including:“Lava” bracelet which evokes volcanic movement through its layers of long, curving, and patinated sheet metal“Lil’s Wire” pendant, inspired by the atom, representing Smith’s interest in mid-century scientific discoveries and the space age“Minetta” necklace with a carnelian stone, whose name alludes to the historical Little Africa neighborhood in New York CityArt Smith was influenced by jazz, dance, visual art, pan-African regalia, and relationships he formed with New York’s African American arts community. In his Greenwich village studio, he created custom pieces for many high-profile clients, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and jazz pianist Duke Ellington, and had work featured in Vogue. Art Smith was a luminary to his contemporaries and remains one to today's artists. With stunning photography and essays that reflect on his life, influences, and legacy, Bodyworks is the magnificent retrospective Smith's pioneering career deserves.

Despite being one of the most influential - and indeed most eccentric - of the American modernist jewellers, Sam Kramer (1913-1964) has received little recognition. His expressive, organic work and surreal workshop, located on West 8th Street in New York's Greenwich Village, paved the way for other mid-twentieth century metalsmiths, and for many more working today. Sam Kramer: Jeweler on the Edge investigates Kramer as both a seminal artist and a cult personality. Through lavish colour photographs of rarely seen works as well as newly discovered archival material, the story of this unique individual is told against a backdrop of post-Second World War America, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Mirroring both the existential angst and quirky humour of the Beat Generation, Sam Kramer embodied the iconoclastic spirit of his era.

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.

The Story So Far is the first comprehensive overview of Helen Britton’s work published to celebrate the Australian Design Centre’s Living Treasure: Masters of Australian Craft award. The book covers over 40 years of Britton’s multidisciplinary practice and presents her extraordinary, often colourful and playful works. They evoke childhood memories while also addressing darker aspects of life, leaving the viewer to ultimately find their own meaning within them.Alongside large-format images of her works and the photographic essay “My Godmother’s House” are contributions by Lisa Cahill, Julie Ewington, Barbara Paris Gifford, Katie Scott, and Toni Greenbaum, the artist’s own texts, and excerpts from the collected writings of Ted Snell and Robert Cook.