Inger Wästberg

Art jewellery has departed from its tradition of being decorative ornaments and it has moved beyond solely working as social markers into a new art form not restricted to specific techniques, materials, subjects or aesthetics. Artists working with jewellery as a medium should be considered equal to fine artists. The jewellery produced is unique pieces of art and not mass-produced design objects. The purpose of fine art and art jewellery is communication, conveying ambiguous messages and raising questions. Jewellery has the ability to open up for dialogue between the wearer and its audience. Its messages can contain many layers and urge us to reflect upon and question our own system of belief of what is considered precious and beautiful. In this book, noted art jewellery specialist Inger Wästberg shines light upon art jewellery as an independent art form through a number of pieces from her own collection. She shows jewellery that reflects the times we are living in; that challenges our perception of what is considered beautiful; and that deals with topics like gender equality, overconsumption, sustainability and the transience of life.

Utställningen Transformations visar samtida svensk smyckekonst. Den lyfter fram sex sinsemellan mycket olika konstnärskap. Vi får se verk av Tobias Alm, Sara Borgegård Älgå, Hanna Hedman, Catarina Hällzon, Agnes Larsson och Märta Mattsson. Samtliga konstnärer är representerade i Nationalmuseums samlingar.

Contemporary Swedish Art Jewellry is a far cry from what is perceived as typically Swedish. Today's jewellery artists engage with and reflect on problems in society using a material vocabulary that goes far beyond precious metals and gemstones. This book explores how art jewellery has taken its rightful place in the world of contemporary art. Jewellery historian Inger Wästberg has produced a volume that serves as a reference source for curators, collectors and other artists. Thirty-one Swedish jewellery artists are represented from the 1990s to today, with an introduction by Inger Wästberg and a foreword by David Revere McFadden, chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design i New York City.