Works 1987-Present: Esther Knobel

The work shown in this exhibition was made during the past 30 years and presents the variety of content interest and inspiration I drew from my engagement with the area of jewelry.

 

What else can become jewelry? Does a brooch need to have a face and a back? Those questions are focal to the making of the Immigrant series from 1987. The pieces are constructed from an assemblage of hand made and ready-made parts and are attached to the garment with a pin held by the elasticity of the thread.

 

The mind in the hand series from 2007-present, derives from my interest in traditional “mark making” techniques on metal such as etching, engraving, embossing and niello. Marks here are made by stitching into perforated silver.

 

My love for color, nature and the nature of material, is the reason for my long and lasting interest with the technique of enameling. Presented here are works from 3 different periods,” tulips” 1997, “my grandmother is knitting too” 2000 and” magnets” from 2010. The challenge here is to stretch the boundaries of the technique and learn more about the seductive nature of enamel.