Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry
January 13 to February 28, 2010.
Velvet da Vinci 2015 Polk Street San Francisco, CA 94109 415-441-0109

During the Second World War, American troops in New Zealand were issued a concise guide to familiarize themselves with the country in which they were stationed. Published by the War and Navy Departments in 1943, Pocket Guide to New Zealand was a descriptive guide to the history, culture, peoples and language of New Zealand.

Reassuring readers that New Zealanders were a pioneering society who had been “seeing our movies, listening to our radio, and reading our magazines”, the Pocket Guide to New Zealand concluded that its readers would meet “a people with some of the British reserve, with many British methods and institutions, but with American outspokenness and directness – plus a working knowledge of American slang.”

Five decades later, the Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry continues this tradition of cultural exchange, introducing a new generation of Americans to contemporary jewelry made, as the original guide put it, “deep in the heart of the south seas.” The Pocket Guide to New Zealand Jewelry is an indispensable introduction to a country that continues to transform cultural influences from England, Europe and America into jewelry that American audiences will find both familiar and strange. Curated by Damian Skinner

The exhibition will travel to The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston in March 2010
124 page color catalog $19.95
Participating artists:
Anna Wallis, Jane Dodd, Jason Hall, Fran Allison, Warwick Freeman, Areta Wilkinson, Alan Preston, Renee Bevan, Lisa Walker, Peter McKay, Lynn Kelly, Octavia Cook, Andrea Daly, Pauline Bern, Niki Hastings-McFall, Peter Deckers
www.velvetdavinci.com

30 international jewelry designers.
1 weekend only.

February 5 • 6 • 7 • 2010
February 5, 6 – 9 pm | Preview Launch Party
February 6 & 7, 11 am – 5 pm | Marketplace

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, BAM is launching INDULGE, a niche jewelry marketplace. Thirty jewelers from BC to NYC are gathering for one weekend only to unveil hot, new designer collections. From contemporary stylized rings to timeless sculptural ornaments, INDULGE is your chance to acquire stunning jewels you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else.  Click here, to find out more and purchase tickets.

Stefano Catalani joined Bellevue Arts Museum in 2005, and has recently been appointed Director of Curatorial Affairs/Artistic Director, effective February 12, 2010. He has conceived and organized 17 (and rising) acclaimed exhibitions exploring the ever-evolving field of art, craft and design. Major exhibitions include ÜberPortrait, Ed Pien: Haven, Dim Sum at the On-On Tea Room: The Jewelry of Ron Ho and Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker, among others. Paying special tribute to Northwest artists, Catalani has showcased the work of some of the most promising talents of this region, including Mandy Greer, John Grade, Etsuko Ichikawa and Tip Toland. Four exhibitions curated by Catalani have gone on nationwide tours to other museum venues, introducing on-the-rise craft artists to new audiences across the continent. Traveling exhibitions include A Tapestry of Memory: The Art of Dinh Q Lê, Mandy Greer: Dare alla Luce, Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker andEd Pien: Haven.

During his tenure at BAM, Catalani has written and/or contributed to nine exhibition catalogues published by Bellevue Arts Museum; among them an award winner from the American Association of Museums (2007, Dim Sum at the On-On Tea Room: The Jewelry of Ron Ho).

Highly regarded in the field of contemporary art, Catalani has been chosen as a nominator for many awards, including the Neddy Fellowship Award (Behnke Foundation, Seattle, WA), the Irving and Yvonne Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Artist Trust, Seattle, WA) and the Contemporary Northwest Art Awards (Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR). He also serves as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington, Evergreen State College and other educational institutions.

An Italian native, Catalani relocated to Seattle in 2001. His classic studies in Italy provided him with a strong theoretical background in art history and philosophy. At Bellevue Arts Museum, he focuses on “craft as a cultural signifier,” stressing the social implications of craft.