ARTIST STATEMENT & RESUME

Valerie Mitchell
STATEMENT 2005



FOR 20 YEARS I HAVE FOCUSED ON THE FORM OF STRUCTURE, WHERE IT COMES FROM AND ITS APPLICATION. THE TRUTH IN THE REPETITION OF NATURAL STRUCTURE REFLECTS LIFE, ECHOS OUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. I AM MOTIVATED BY THE UNIVERSALITY THAT REPEATED FORMS TAKE AS THEY GROW IN VARIOUS LIVING PROCESSES. I WORK IN MY DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES AND HIGH DESERT STUDIOS FULL TIME, CREATING ONE OF A KIND AND LIMITED PRODUCTION JEWELRY AND OBJECTS.


MY ONE OF A KIND, SCULPTURAL JEWELRY IS BASED ON MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF ORGANIC FORMS, INTERPRETING THE UNDULATING PROCESS OF BIOLOGICAL GROWTH. PIECES MAY BE HAND CARVED, COPPER ELECTROFORM AND SURFACED WITH PATINAS OR HIGH FIRE ENAMEL OR CEMENT IS POURED INTO FORMS CONSTRUCTED WITH 18K GOLD, SILVER AND EMBEDDED MATERIALS , A DICHOTOMY OF INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIC FORM.


THE BOTANIC COLLECTION OF LIMITED PRODUCTION, HANDMADE JEWELRY REPRESENTS AN ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION OF PLANT STRUCTURE, HAND CARVED, CAST AND CONSTRUCTED IN 18K GOLD, SILVER AND BRASS. THE PINNATE AND EUCALYPTUS SERIES REFLECT HOW LEAVES GROW ALTERNATE OR COMPOUND ON A STEM, AS DOES THE TINY LEAF OF THE DESERT PALO VERDI TREE. THE CEDAR SERIES, ONE OF MY CLASSIC DESIGNS, IS INSPIRED BY THE AERODYNAMIC SEED POD FALLING FROM THE GIANT INCENSE CEDAR TREE IN THE SIERRAS. TO WALK AND PICK UP A LEAF AND STUDY ITS SHAPE IS THE BEGINNING OF INSPIRATION, TO LOOK CLOSE AND SEE ITS ABSTRACTED STRUCTURE IS MY DEPARTURE.

RESUME

VALERIE MITCHELL


EDUCATION:
Master of Fine Arts, 1984, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Bachelor of Science, 1977, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT


PUBLIC COLLECTIONS/AWARDS:
Oakland Museum of Fine Arts, Oakland, CA
Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI
American Crafts Council Award of Excellence, '99
Ornament Magazine, 1st Place Award, '84


SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2004 Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE "Bridging, Structure to Form"
2003 IMEC Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
2000 Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, AZ
1998 Nancy Sachs Gallery, St. Louis, MO
1997 Jewelerswerk Galerie, Washington, DC
Barnsdall Art Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12 year retrospective
1993 Objects of Desire Gallery, Louisville, KY (also in 1992)
1992 Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
South Bay Contemporary Museum of Art, Torrance, CA
1986 Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
1985 The Hand and the Spirit Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1979 Artworks Gallery, Hartford, CT "Shining, jewelry from my environment"


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2005 Gallery Suum, Seoul, Korea "Artful Jewelry"
Racine Art Museum, Racine WI "Magnificent Extravagance.."
Thomas Riley Gallery, Woodmere, OH "In Print/In Person"
2003 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA "The Art of California Gold"
WDO Gallery, Charotte, NC "The Nature of Things"
Palo Alto Art Center, CA "Enamel Masters"
SOFA/Chicago, SNAG/Exhibition in Print
2002 Martina & Co, Providence, RI "Inspired by Nature"
Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA "Functional Fine Art"
Objects of Desire Gallery, Louisville, KY, 4 person show
Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ "The Perfect Gift"
2001 Facere Gallery, Seattle, WA "Quinta Essentia"
2000 Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA "Structure, Symbol & Substance"
Sienna Gallery, Lenox, MA. 4 person show
Paula Brown Gallery, Toledo, Ohio. 2 person show
1999 Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA. "California Metalsmiths.."
OXOXO Gallery, Baltimore, MD "Secret Gardens"
SOFA/NYC, represented by Jewelerswerk Galerie and SOFA Expo/Chicago
1998 Hot Glass, Arts Comm. of Grtr. Toledo Auction & Exhibition, Ohio. Catalog.
1997 Mobilia Gallery,Cambridge, MA "Three Generations..."
Galeria Hipotesi, Barcelona, Spain "New Jewellery From the USA"
Lesley Craze Gallery, London, England "New Jewellery..."
Brookfield Craft Center, Brookfield, CT "The Environmental Bead", catalog.
Susan Cummins Gallery, "Jewelry for the Opera", '96 "Issues and Intent: Am. Metalwork"
1996 Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA "The Art of Taking Risks", '95 "Art Jewelry: Historical View"
Brand Gallery, Santa Ana, CA "2nd Annual Sculpture Exhibition", 4 person show
Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland "Contemporary American Jewelry"
1995 Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI "Double Vision", also at Gallery I/O, LA;
Nat. Ornamental Museum; Arkansas Arts Center; and Weisman Museum, Minneapolis. Catalog
Sun Valley Center Gallery, Ketchum, ID "Material Nature: Process/Product"
SOFA Exposition, Chicago, IL and Miami, FL, represented by Susan Cummins Gallery
Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Mobilia Gallery, MA "One of a Kind, American Art Jewelry Today"
1994 The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA "Jewels and Gems: Collecting California Jewelry"
Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA "California Jewelers"
1993 Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL. "American Jewelers";
Wutsum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI. "American Jewelers", brochure
1992 Gallery Tiller, Vienna, Austria "Jewelry of the New World"
1990 Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, CA. "Progressive Metals"
1988 Wita Gardiner Gallery, San Diego, CA. "Sculptural Jewelry: 4 Artists"
1987 Gallery Kunsthandwerk, Berlin, W. Germany "Hals Arm Ohr; 25 x Junger Schmuck Int'l."
1996 Long Beach Musum of Art, CA. "Enamels International", brochure
Downey Museum of Art, CA. "Contemporary Metals"
1984 Int. Handwerksmesse, Munich, W. Germany "Schmuck und Gerat 1959-1984", catalog



SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The Art of Jewelry Design, Kruprenia, Debra.1997: Quarry Books/Rockport Pub.
One of a Kind: American Art Jewelry Today, Lewin, Susan Grant.1994: Harry Abrams, Inc.
Metalsmith magazine, Exhibition In Print, vol.23 (4) 2003; Review-Spring 1999, 45;
Exhibition in Print, Spring 1995, 53; Spring 1994, 46
American Craft magazine, July 1999, 74-75 Focus; Sept. 1995, vol.55 (4), 66, review
Art Week newsmagazine, Nov. 1995, article " Body Art"
Ornament magazine, Reviews-vol. 21(2) 1997, 19: vol. 15(4) 1992, 33; vol. 12(1) 1988, 13.
Feature-vol.12(4) 1989,50-55. Articles-vol. 17(2) 1993, 73; vol. 15(1) 1991, 39; vol. 8(1)1984, 60
GZ European Jeweler magazine, Nov. 1992, 80
Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, Oct. 8, 1989, 28-29, feature, 7/80
Los Angeles Downtown News, weekly, Dec. 2, 2002, feature