The Metal Museum is pleased to present Edge of the Sublime, a retrospective of works by enamellist Jamie Bennett. Bennett is an internationally recognized metalsmith whose painterly innovations have greatly expanded the field of fired enamel into a medium for contemporary expression. This exhibition explores Bennett’s creative use and development of a variety of enameling and metalworking techniques to produce highly color-saturated imagery on signature brooches, necklaces and pendants. Bennett’s related production of enameled wall reliefs and other works on paper painted in oil and encaustic is explored in this exciting overview of the artist’s career, on view through August 24.
The exhibition, organized by the Fuller Craft Museum, will be accompanied by a beautifully illustrated 150-page color publication, available in hard and soft cover. This handsome publication will include 100 color plates, a biographical essay by exhibition curator Jeannine Falino, and essays by distinguished writers in the field. The publication is funded by the Windgate Charitable Foundation, Artist’s Exhibition Series and the Rotasa Foundation Art Jewelry Grant.
About the Artist
Jamie Bennett is currently Professor of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He is a three-time recipient of the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and has received a New York State fellowship twice, as well as numerous other awards. He has exhibited extensively in the U.S. and abroad. His work is in permanent collections in over twenty museums in the world including The Museum of Art and Design in New York; The Kunst Museum in Oslo; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.; the Gallery of Western Australia in Perth; and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
One of the pre-eminent enamellists in the world, Bennett’s work is known for its meticulous use of color and ornamentation. His participation in many pioneering exhibitions such as Jewelry Moves at the National Museum of Scotland and New Times, New Thinking Jewelry in Europe and America at the National Museum of Wales underscore his influence and impact in contemporary jewelry.