Since 2001, SNAG has sponsored lectures at the International Expositions of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA). We bring some of the most interesting contemporary jewelers and metalsmiths into the public eye. All lectures are free to SOFA attendees. See www.sofaexpo.com for more information.
Upcoming SNAG-Sponsored Lectures at SOFA Chicago
SNAG Emerging Artists 2017
Friday, November 3rd, 2017, 8:30-9:30am
Three exceptional emerging artists, Kat Cole, Motoko Furuhashi and Anne-Sophie Vallée (at right), will each speak about the development of the innovative jewelry they create.
Genesis: Life and Form Through Different Lenses
Friday, November 3rd, 2017, 9:30 – 10:30am
Jewelry artists Ezra Satok-Wolman and Wendy McAllister (at right) will each present a lecture about their work and collaborative exhibition project Genesis: Life and Form Through Different Lenses. From a simple flower to complex fractals, the lectures will explore how both artists draw inspiration from the geometry of the natural world, and the vastly different ways in which they interpret it.
CAST: A New Book and the SOFA Artists It Features
Friday, November 3rd, 2017, 10:30 -11:30am
CAST: Art and Objects Made Using Humanity’s Most Transformational Process by Jen Townsend and Renèe Zettle-Sterling is a new book that shines a light on the under-appreciated art of casting from the Bronze Age until today. This lecture will focus on SOFA artists who are featured in the book and who use casting in a variety of ways with incredible and varied outcomes. There will be a book signing with the authors following the lecture.
Also of Interest
Jessica Calderwood: Working Through Material
Booth 1603, SPECIAL 3:00 PM RECEPTION ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3RD FOR SNAG MEMBERS ONLY. Calderwood, head of jewelry and metalsmithing at Ball State University, will talk about how her autobiographically based jewelry and sculptural compositions always start with metal; she then incorporates other craft-related materials such as porcelain, enamel, and fiber to reference historical antecedents.
Turning a Full Circle
Friday, November 3rd, 2017, 2:00-3:00pm
From its inception as an artist led organization, the American Association of Woodturners has been dedicated to the open sharing, collaboration and communication of ideas, techniques, and opportunities. In this panel, moderator Gwynne Rukenbrod, Executive Director of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, will bring her experience with craft organizations to a discussion of how the AAW’s uniquely broad spectrum approach to membership has cultivated new talent and sparked creativity, as well as played a role in rapid advances in techniques and technology. Presented by the American Association of Woodturners in conjunction with the SOFA CHICAGO Special Exhibit “MATERIAL EVIDENCE.” (at right: Hayley Smith)
Reminiscence: A 45 Year Journey in the World of Contemporary Jewelry
Friday, November 3rd, 2017, 2:00-3:00pm
Jewelry artist Janis Kerman will discuss her journey through the contemporary jewelry world. Kerman’s work is based on geometric shapes – their inherent strength, applicability, and timelessness. Following the lecture will be a signing of her recent book, Reminiscence: A 45 Year Journey in the World of Contemporary Jewelry at the Option Art booth. Presented by Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h and Option Art.
Luminous Vessels: An Ongoing Exploration of Form, Design and Color
Friday, November 3rd, 2017, 3:00-4:00pm
In this lecture, artist David Huang will consider his exploration of form, design and patina as his body of work has developed over the years. Huang’s metal vessels showcase skilled craftsmanship and explore the physicality of the material world. Presented by Kirsten Muenster Projects.
Past Lectures
SNAG Emerging Artists 2016
Tara Locklear, Jin Seo and Aurélie Guillaume
SOFA Chicago Nov 2016
Using Language as an Inspiration for Jewelry
Jonathan Boyd
SOFA Chicago Nov 2016
Breaking New Ground
Rebecca Hannon
SOFA Chicago Nov 2016
SNAG Emerging Artists 2015
Lynn Batchelder, Sooyeon Kim and Laura Wood
SOFA Chicago Nov 2015
Drawing and Making
Jamie Bennett
SOFA Chicago Nov 2015
Things that Make my Heart Beat Faster
Donald Friedlich
SOFA Chicago Nov 2015
Other Fancy Stuff
Jeweler John Iversen and art historian Toni Greenbaum
SOFA Chicago Nov 2015
SNAG Emerging Artists 2014
Steven Gordon Holman, Lauren Tickle and Demitra Thomloudis
SOFA Chicago Nov 2014
Carrying Devices and Other Absurdities
Sigurd Bronger
SOFA Chicago Nov 2014
Contemporary Jewelry in the Donna Schneier Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Donna Schneier, Bruce Metcalf, Kiff Slemmons and Don Friedlich
SOFA Chicago Nov 2014
SNAG Emerging Artists 2013
Dukno Yoon, Heather Bayless, and Yong Joo Kim
SOFA Chicago Nov 2013
Time is the Creator if it's Given a Chance
Daniel Pošta and Zdenek Vacĕk
SOFA Chicago Nov 2013
Living with Silver in the 21st Century
Rob and Jaap Thalen
SOFA Chicago Nov 2013
Gothic: Jewelry on the Edge
Marjorie Simon
SOFA Chicago Nov 2012
Killer Jewels
Paul McClure
SOFA Chicago Nov 2012
SNAG Emerging Artists
Heejin Hwang, Andrew Kuebeck, and Emanuela Duca
SOFA Chicago Nov 2012
Allusion, Motif and Identity in Silver
Marian Hosking
SOFA Chicago May 2012
The Transcendent Jewelry of Margaret de Patta: Vision in Motion
Ursula Ilse-Neuman
SOFA New York Apr 2012
Thinking Organically In a Digital Age
Doug Bucci
SOFA Chicago Nov 2011
Venus Adorned
Bruce Metcalf
SOFA Chicago Nov 2011
Two Visions
Sergey Jivetin and Jennifer Trask
SOFA New York Apr 2011
For People Who are Slightly Mad: American Modernist Jewelry
Panel Discussion
SOFA New York Apr 2011
Peering over the Palace Wall: The Neo-Palatial Aesthetic in Contemporary Art
Garth Clark
SOFA Chicago Nov 2010
A Wider World: Handmade and Fair Trade
Peggy Eng
SOFA Chicago Nov 2010
Holding Objects: What it Means to Wear Jewelry - The Psychoanalytic Mechanisms
Rock Hushka
SOFA New York Apr 2010
Jewelry Design: Surface in Depth
Stefano Marchette
SOFA New York Apr 2010
Simplicity, Intensity and Jewelry
Mirjam Hiller
SOFA Chicago Nov 2009
Stories from the Crystal Palace
Barbara Seidenath
SOFA Chicago Nov 2009
Allusion, Motif and Identity in Silver
Marian Hosking
SOFA New York Apr 2009
The Philanthropy of Craft: Innovative Ways to Make Your Charitable Contributions Count
Panel Discussion
SOFA Chicago Nov 2008
Why I Do What I Do
Karen Pontoppidan
SOFA New York Apr 2009
Jewelry Development
Anya Kivarkis, Suzie Ganch, and Sayumi Yokouchi
SOFA Chicago Nov 2007
Framing the Art of Jewelry
Suzanne Ramljak
SOFA Chicago Nov 2007
Exploration of Large Scale Jewelry and Scultpture
Marjorie Schick
SOFA Chicago Nov 2007
Re:Pair & Imperfection
Kiff Slemmons
SOFA New York Jun 2007
Development of Photo-etched Imagery
Bettina Speckner
SOFA Chicago Nov 2006
Naturalistically Inspired Hollowware and Jewelry Development
Sue Amendolara
SOFA Chicago Nov 2006
Aesthetic and Technical Developments
David Watkins
SOFA New York Jun 2006
Flatware: Function + Fantasy
Rosanne Raab
SOFA Chicago Oct 2005
On Jjoum-Ipsa: the Traditional Korean Damascene Technique
Jung Sil Hong
SOFA New York Jun 2005