Note: All submitted events must be approved before they appear in the calendar.
Jewelers’Werk Galerie will open Shakkei—Borrowed Scenery, an exhibition of new work by artist-jeweler Mari Ishikawa on Saturday, July 16th. The show will remain on view through August 5, 2022.
“Shakkei,” translated as “borrowed scenery,” is a Japanese architectural term in which gardens or buildings are designed to incorporate their existing surroundings. For Ishikawa, kimono fabric serves as her “borrowed scenery” which she embellishes with stones, watch hands, and silver, thus creating a new landscape for her neckpieces and brooches. Ishikawa further conjectures that jewelry itself can serve as “borrowed scenery” for the wearer, or conversely, the wearer may be the “borrowed scenery” for the jewelry. Also included in this show are pieces from Ishikawa’s series (Un)Locked. Transforming antique skeleton keys with silk, garnets, and Japanese lacquer, Ishikawa creates arresting pendants symbolic of our current situation. Ishikawa sees hope in the utilitarian object that has opened many doors, noting, “There is no such thing as an endless night… the way is already open, and change has already begun.” With each of her pieces, Ishikawa tells a story and invites the wearer to become a part of it.
Originally from Kyoto, Japan, Mari Ishikawa studied art and jewelry-making in her native country and later earned a diploma from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, where she continues to live and work. Ishikawa has won multiple prestigious international awards and exhibited worldwide. Her pieces are represented in the permanent collections of notable museums throughout the world, including the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The exhibition is open during gallery hours: Monday through Saturday 11 am – 5 pm or by appointment. Jewelers’Werk Galerie is located at 3319 Cady’s Alley, NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. It is the longest-running and only contemporary art jewelry gallery of its kind in the greater Washington DC area, where owner and industry veteran Ellen Reiben shows precious and non-precious works by international artist-jewelers. For more information, contact the gallery at 202-337-3319, or go to: http://www.jewelerswerk.com/
