Posted in: Exhibitions
Choker #91 by Mary Lee Hu will remain on display at Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery until May 12, 2015. Photo used with permission.
Mary Lee Hu approaches her craft like a Zen master, dedicating herself to a relatively narrow group of tools, materials, and techniques.
Every one of her techniques is drawn from the field of textile work. Even ancient designers wove with metal from time to time, but very few appear to have dedicated themselves to the application of techniques in basketry, hand weaving, crochet, and knitting to metalsmithing in quite the way that Ms. Hu has done.
Beginning with silver and copper in the mid-1960s, Mary Lee Hu has created unique adornments that exude many of the characteristics of cloth, though with a fine, glimmering edge that can be achieved only with elemental minerals. Today, Ms. Hu primarily crafts her pieces in 14k, 18k, 22k, and 24k gold, often weaving several gauges together to achieve the subtle nuances that set her work apart from that of her peers {Blauer}.
Ms. Hu uses only a small handful of tools, depending primarily upon her fingers. From time to time she employs a crochet hook, and perhaps one or two other special implements, though she prefers to keep her tool bag light and her options limited. Within these self-imposed limitations, she has found an endless supply of variations on a theme.
To follow the arc of Mary Lee Hu's life work is to behold the power of commitment, faithfulness, and perseverance. She began her work as all great masters begin, in the classroom. At the bench, she learned the elements of Scandinavian design which were so popular during her early years at the bench {Mad Museum}.
In graduate school, she ventured outside the world of metals to take a class in fibre arts. As the semester progressed, she became increasingly inspired to apply what she was learning in textiles to her favored medium, metal wire .
Throughout the 1970s she drew inspiration from nature, crafting lifelike lizards, birds nests, and insects, using the simplest of techniques, wrapping, plaiting, and twisting wires. As school gave way to a career in metals, she found herself on distant shores, studying ancient and modern cultures.
Her passion for anthropology and jewelry history opened a window to the past, inspiring Ms. Hu's multicultural torques and chokers which carry overtones of the Orient. For many years her work was bold and cultural, though in more recent years the lines of her pieces have become more organic, favoring the styles of European antiquity.
The necklace featured here, called simply Choker #91, is an exquisite example of Ms. Hu's more delicate, European style work. The evoke a ballroom scene during the Belle Epoque, though Ms. Hu would be cautious about assigning any one source for inspiration.
Ms. Hu, quoted by author Nanz Aalund in the book Masters: Gold, claims many inspirations. "I look at a lot of historical jewelry and metalwork, as well as traditional non-Western body adornment, and they do influence my work, but not to the point where I wish to name a piece in reference to something in particular" {p. 25}.
Instead, she maintains a minimalist approach to naming her pieces. Each piece is numbered within its most elemental category, be it a Choker, a Bracelet, Earrings, or a Brooch. She hopes this simplistic naming system allows those who experience her jewels to interpret their impact through their intuition, through their gut, rather than using their minds to puzzle over the name and what it means to them.
For those interested in experiencing this gut level reaction, we are pleased to announce the 'So Fine' jewelry exhibition at Facèré Jewelry Art Gallery in downtown Seattle. Visitors can savor several precious pieces fashioned by Mary Lee Hu, as well as a number of pieces by other local jewelry artists, including Nanz Aalund, Megan Corwin, Maggie Davidson, Linda Kindler-Priest, Todd Pownell, and more.
The 'So Fine' exhibition aims to offer a fresh interpretation and expression of the notion of traditional jewelry. The gallery has chosen select pieces in which the presenting artists have explored visions of finery and fashion interpreted in precious metals and gemstones. For more information, click here.
~Angela Magnotti Andrews, Staff Writer 9 years ago
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