Just Do It
Re:Pair & Imperfection
Opening reception Thu., May 17, 5:30-7:30 p.m., exhibit runs through Aug. 23, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S.18th St., 215-545-4302, www.philartalliance.org
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In 2004 and 2005, jewelry artist and self-taught metalsmith Kiff Slemmons asked her friends and colleagues to give her pieces of their work that were broken, incomplete or imperfect — fragments that would otherwise be destined for the junk drawers of the art world, never to be seen again. With this unwanted miscellany, Slemmons created a body of well-wrought, concept-oriented jewelry, bringing the experimental aspects of art to the delicate labor of craft.
The 30 pins, necklaces and rings are currently on view in her solo exhibit, "Re:Pair & Imperfection," along with photographs of the fragments (which include compact discs and cast plaster) before she manipulated them and added her own materials (such as silver, copper and mica). Sometimes the fragments were altered; other times they were left fully intact. One noteworthy pin incorporates many small mouse bones, pieced together to look like a wolf's face. In each case, the discarded items inspired her to think, and work, in new ways.
"These little broken or incomplete objects pushed me into areas of my imagination that I had never visited," says Slemmons. "I normally start to work with a clear idea, but this project forced me to begin with incoherence and mystery."
In the spirit of collaboration, the finished pieces will be displayed in boxes made by artists Karin Vance and Kim Kopp, which will be covered with handmade wild cotton and linen paper made by Taller Arte Papel Oaxaca — a paper-making studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, where Slemmons recently worked as a visiting artist.
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