The Artist Talk Was held on September 10th, 2020 at 6pm via Zoom. Watch it here.

“A witness from inside, I tell a lost truth. Cradling stolen moments of breath and bearing the weight of memory, The Figure of the Falling exhibits works that refer to the center: the core, the spine, the gut, and the heart. Metal objects and necklaces point to sites on the body to interpret the impossibilities of telling. Like the armor they have become, these works serve as protection and give testimony to the privacy of night. The heartbeats of these memories are transferred into the stillness of the work, and here I learn to breathe again.”

-Betsy Lewis

Betsy Lewis investigates acts of offering by accumulating signifiers that allude to grief and hope; working together to realize a new form of telling the truth through our bodies. Making objects whose meaning is derived from the weight of memories and the methods we use to instill objects with meaning Lewis tends to use traditional silversmith techniques such as hollow forming, forging, and fabrication. Doing so establishes historical tension by asserting these methods’ value in a contemporary studio context.

Contributing actively to the field Betsy Lewis has held assistantship and teaching positions at Maine College of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Brooklyn Metalworks, and SUNY New Paltz, the latter of which she received her Master in Fine Art. Lewis currently lives and works in New York City.

instants//intervals | Valerie James

Valerie James’ work conveys her interest in movement, mapping, and mark making. James observes the patterns and pathways that a body takes in its everyday routines and finds parallels within her studio practice. Engraving a sheet of metal is a process of ritual much like the act of walking. By physically embedding her movements into the surfaces James evidences a tangible relationship to the ephemeral. Through jewelry James sees a connection to landscapes that are traversed by a body, conforming to existing pathways, and landscapes that are created by wearing, tracing the curves of our physical existence.

“As we move, we begin to understand the spaces we encounter. I want to know the space of the body as it moves through specific environments and connect these to my research and inquiries. Walking is a way of knowing the body: the subtle gestures it makes while progressing through space, how it moves – how it interacts with its surrounding landscape. It is a collection of movements that live parallel to the interaction that happens with a piece of jewelry. The body is a dwelling for jewelry, and how we move affects its life. I am intrigued by the symbiotic relationship of body to jewelry, both on and off the body.”

- Valerie James

valerie-james.com

The Last Objects | MJ Tyson

MJ Tyson’s work is centered on the relationship between people and their possessions, and makes use of unconventional casting, re-use, and record keeping. The Last Objects features works from two main series: boxes from Inheritance and Dust to Dust, and vessels from Homes. Each work is comprised of personal objects left behind by deceased residents, sited at specific locations, and named accordingly. Looking into works like 102 Garden Hills Drive gives the viewer a glimpse of this past and offers the opportunity to reconstruct narratives with the remnants.

“All material carries a past. Whether we acknowledge this lineage or not, it exists. It may be to our advantage — as a way of orienting ourselves in our world — to consider the cycles of creation and destruction intrinsic to the objects that surround us.

Our individual lives are fleeting. We use objects to extend ourselves beyond the boundaries of our bodies and lifespans. We ask these objects to lend us immortality, and we practice collection, conservation, and restoration to that end. In reality, nothing is immune to change. Objects also die.

Embracing the destructive side of creation, MJ Tyson practices the reincarnation of personal objects. The resulting jewelry and vessels hold evidence of their past lives within their new forms. These are messy situations in neat packages, ready to go back into circulation. The last objects will become the next.”

- MJ Tyson

MJ Tyson is an artist and jeweler from New Jersey. She received her BFA from the Jewelry + Metalsmithing Department at Rhode Island School of Design in 2008 and returned to earn her MFA in 2017.  Interests in value and material culture have led MJ to the worlds of art appraisal and museum conservation. Research in these outside disciplines informs her studio work.

mjtyson.com

TAKEN | RISD Jewelry + Metalsmithing Graduates

The ring is taken. She is taken with the ring. The ring is her. 
The process is taken. She is taken with the process. The process is her. 
The lesson is taken. She is taken with the lesson. The lesson is her. 
The object is taken. She is taken with the object. The object is her. 
The world is taken. She is taken with the world. The world is her. 
The nature is taken. She is taken with the nature. The nature is her. 
The material is taken. She is taken with the material. The material is her. 
The journey is taken. She is taken with the journey. The journey is her. 
The love is taken. She is taken with the love. The love is her. 
The hate is taken. She is taken with the hate. The hate is her. 
The machine is taken. She is taken with the machine. The machine is her. 
The self is taken. She is taken with the self. The self is her. 
The value is taken. She is taken with the value. The value is her. 
The influence is taken. She is taken with the influence. The influence is her. 
The gem is taken. She is taken with the gem. The gem is her. 
The work is taken. She is taken with the work. The work is her.   

TAKEN, which highlights the immersive processes that are the origins of this jewelry work. Featuring the work of 7 artists from the RISD Jewelry + Metalsmithing graduate department.

Iris Han has taken traditional stone setting in a revolutionary direction. She introduces an unconventional system of value that considers vulnerability, color diversity, and openness.

Heesu Kim considers how love and hate are unconsciously taken. In nature Heesu finds examples of resilience, and learns lessons about slowing down and connecting with her surroundings. Her work pays tribute to this force.

Chubai Liu is (re)defining and questioning the existence of the self through physical works made by the self. She considers ways the human and mechanical have taken over each and become hybridized.

Molly Palecek brings together methods and motifs taken from different fields. In her work, sacred architecture, algorithms from digital fabrication, and jewelry forms and techniques intermingle, growing into and out of each other.

Neta Ron makes as a process of healing and recharging. When Neta is taken with her process, when she stops monitoring her making through the exterior world, she is freed from worry; the work comes through her fingers and is resolved.

Yue Tan is taken with the texture and quality of the woods, where the scene varies from each difference angle. She builds connections between yarn and wood, using contrasting materials to share the atmosphere of the forest.

MJ Tyson works with objects taken from their roles in the world. She destroys and reworks the captured objects into transmissions that tell of multiple generations.