Must See: Margaret De Patta @ MADMuseum

Just came back from the Margaret De Patta exhibit at MADMuseum.

…De Patta is further distinguished by being one of the few American jewelers whose work and ideas were allied to the then currently evolving ideas presented in the modern art movement. Her strong motivation to establish jewelry as an informed and personal expression of the highest order led her to become one of the leading spokespersons for the dignity of the metalworkers craft as it developed during the relatively arid environment of the thirties in this country.

I recommend both the exhibit and the museum as a whole. 

I’m a fan of Margaret for her practical use of stones in a seemingly simple and a clearly artistic way. Her use of transparent stones like rutilated quartz and rock crystal is quite wonderful, as she works around the stone and lets the stone be her guide to developing her pieces.

Her work, today is still so original and has not been mimicked in any competitive or comparable way.

Below are some of my favorite pieces, her cathedral pendant, which can be viewed at MAD through September 23rd and another pendant made in 1953 that I find absolutely mesmerizing.