Event Dates

August 2 - September 22, 2019

Building on the Body exhibits jewelry crafted from building materials—from lightweight paper to cement—by designers from the United States, Europe, and Asia. Places and urban identities are revealed in brooches, necklaces, and rings crafted with Corian, corrugated cardboard, copper mesh, and steel. Jewelry becomes wearable architecture, challenging our understanding of what jewelry is in the context of contemporary culture.

108|Contemporary is pleased to introduce our upcoming exhibition Building on the Body: Identity, Materials, Jewelry. Architecture is seen in a new way as it melds with the human body. This exhibition brings together artists from around the world that use industrial and construction materials to create micro structures that highlight the unique architectural aspects of jewelry and the body it adorns. Through this process, the jewelry takes on a new form and becomes a wearable piece of architecture.

Architecture is often associated with the industrial construction of buildings: however, in Building on the Body 15 designers from Asia, Europe, and the United States have come together to challenge this concept. Using bodies as a foundation, the designers create breathtaking visual stories that often reflect the individual wearer’s urban identities. The exhibiting artists use industrial materials often used in construction, from concrete and steel to corrugated cardboard, to celebrate the human body and the expression of one’s identity through ornamentation using the same visual language of urban construction. 

 

This exhibition is generously sponsored by
The Mervin Bovaird Foundation
Tom & Susie Wallace
Jan Jennings & Herb Gottfried
TODD Architecture Group
Doug Campbell

 

Curated by Erin Rappleye

 

Participating Artists
Eleanor Bolton | London, England
Kat Cole | Dallas, Texas
Karen-Ann Dicken | Glasgow, Scotland
Motoko Furuhashi | Las Cruces, New Mexico
Yong Joo Kim | Providence, Rhode Island
Sharon Massey | Indiana, Pennsylvania
Tiff Massey | Detroit, Michigan
Ritsuko Ogura | Tokyo, Japan
Federica Sala | Milan, Italy
Caitie Sellers | Richmond, Virginia
Jiří Šibor | Brno, Czech Republic
Demitra Thomloudis | Athens, Georgia
Jess Tolbert | El Paso, Texas
Julia Turner | San Francisco, California
Kee-Ho Yuen | Iowa City, Iowa

 

Object List

Eleanor Bolton

Gray Multi-strand Necklace$210 

Zadie Necklace$92 

Atlas Necklace$368 

 

Kat Cole 

Urban Color #1$2,300 

Boundary Line Loop in Red$2,600 

Pile in White #2$550 

Built #1$1,800 

 

Karen-Ann Dicken 

City Necklace$320 

Mountain City Ring$385 

Asteroid City$360 

Fuller City$360 

 

Motoko Furuhashi 

Mesilla$600 

NMSU Parking Lot$600 

Anthony$600 

Untitled$1,000 

 

Yong Joo Kim 

Passen$5,000 

In Light of II Series no.1$1,200 

In Light of II Series no.2$2,400  

In Light of II Series no.3$2,000 

 

Sharon Massey 

Brickwall Necklace$3,000  

Cocktail Ring$600

Brickwall Knuckleduster$600

Necklace, Ductwork Collection$800

 

Ritsuko Ogura 

Red Scarecrows$780 

Back to Wood$560 

White Roll$500 

Wave$2,400 

Burnt Ball$800 

 

Federica Sala 

Untitled Pendant$455 

 

Caitie Sellers 

Brick Necklace$2,100 

Renovation #2$2,600 

Highway Rosette$840 

 

Jiří Šibor 

Untitled, The Circle Series$2,400 

Untitled, Twisted Circles$1,700 

Blue & Fluo Yellow – $1,800 

Green & Fluo Yellow$2,000 

 

Demitra Thomloudis 

(W)eighted, 24.426 Ounces Necklace$450 

(W)eighted HT Side by Side$400 

Over the Fence (CrossPASS project 80 brooches)$8,500 or $160 each 

 

Julia Turner 

Lamina #3$1,200 

Lamina Earrings 12049$280 

Lamina Earrings 12051$280 

Stack Bracelet$850 

Splat Brooch #2$275 

Splat Brooch #3$250 

Scrape Brooch #2$275 

 

Kee-Ho Yuen 

Planning an idea$2,000 

Even rabbits crazy about money$2,500 

Time out$2,000 

Look beyond the adjectives$2,500