Hea Lim Shin. Brooch, I Painted Rain, which became raindrops, 2025, Canvas, Silver, Acrylic paint, Traditional Ink and Traditional Lacquerware.
Eastern Waves and Western Currents
Cultural dialogues in contemporary wearable art, as captured in our Pop-Up Exhibition at Frezza Showroom.
35 Old Street, London EC1V 9HX on September 17th – 24th
Our pop-up exhibition overlaps with the Goldsmiths’ Fair, London Fashion Week, the London Design Week, Shoreditch Design Week, The Homo Faber Biennale 2026 in Venice, and in affinity with it the V&A Kensington hosting the Global Design Forum!
With that setting in mind, materials diversity is the natural focus of the Art-jewellery section of our exhibition. Though, of course, not separate from the magical processes involved, it is saturated with fascinating narratives and enigmatic aesthetic experiences. We observe these objects through the magnifying glass of Eastern Waves & Western Currents, presenting cultural dialogues between the West and East.
This theme also becomes the main topic of the art-clothing exhibited, as we present pieces by Nurit David, a Tel Avivian painter whose paintings, clothing and creative output has long been immersed in Japanese culture.
Nurit David. Jacket, Monks and Skeletons, Chenille & Polyester.
In Art-Jewellery, the shift from traditional precious metals and stones to alternative materials began in the 1960s in Germany and the US; today, it continues to flourish as material diversity evolves in response to environmental concerns and the pursuit of sustainable processes. Some artists prioritise materials’ natural sources with an affinity to locality, reducing waste, and minimising environmental impact. Others focus on promoting the objects’ longevity, preserved for future generations, and all value individual slow studio production.
Moreover, traditional processes of materials associated with old jewellery are transformed, such as new ways of working with pearls, mother of pearl, porcelain, enamelling techniques, electroforming new techniques, or anodising aluminium. Increasingly, you find jewellery made with paper, plastics, leather, fabric, wood, or found stones. This introduces numerous new techniques, arriving at unique visual languages and artistic originality. Personal expression and diversity of narratives are an integral part of the process.
Sarah Powell. Brooch, Untitled, Limewood.
Gitte Nygaard. Ring, Porous VII, Natural Sponge, Porcelain and Bronze
Kayo Saito. Brooch, Mushroom Project 6, Spalted Beech, Brass.
In the context of contemporary art to wear it is more than relevant to be reminded of the philosopher Graham Harman, – the most powerful and influential figures in the contemporary art world (ArtReview). Harman advocates for the importance of aestheticising usefulness in “art for use”. He explains: “Rather than just design a staircase, a good architect can use a staircase to communicate beyond the literal where an artistic endeavour is involved, just as the exact flavour of wine cannot be paraphrased in terms of its chemical equation that describes it”. In other words, real 3D artwork remains deeper and more mysterious than the physical elements and functionality that make up its body.
In our time, Harman’s unique insight is hugely significant, as for more than 200 years, the perception of functionality has been the dividing line in the visual arts between fine art and applied art, originating from Kant’s philosophy, which describes beauty as “purposefulness without purpose”. This assertion has become a milestone in modern culture, and a cultural myth that Harman questions and dismisses.
It is clear that one’s choice of material is integral when forming the structure and functionality of an object, but is equally the foundation for its intangible beauty and aesthetic pleasure. The manipulation of techniques in applied art, reinvention of traditional processes and variety of materials, or introduction of digital tools and processes augment the hand-made processes. All these blur the lines between crafts, design and art and expose the intricate beauty of functional objects.
Seonyong Lee. Brooch, Evolved Cast Skin Series, Silicon.
Ketli Tiitsar. Brooch, Side by Side 3, Textile, Plum Wood, Plywood, Paint, Silver.
Peter Machata. Brooch, Sweet Dreams, Plexiglass, Plastic, Silver.
Artists Exhibited:
Eastern Waves
( East Asia – China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan)
Ahmi Yu
Hee Joo Kim
Hea Lim Shin
Seonyong Lee
Mei Fang Chiang
Pei Wu
Xiaozhe Huang
Kayo Saito,
Mari Ishikawa
Western Currents
( Where by Culturally West we mean through shared value systems, rather than strict geography, expanding the traditional map )
Gitte Nygaard,
Isabelle Azaïs,
Jenny Jansson,
Peter Machata,
Carina Shoshtary
Ketli Tiitsar
Maria Valdma Härm
Liana Pattihis,
Michaela Pegum
Uli Rapp
Ute Decker
Margo Misiak-Orlovic
Ela Bauer
Michal Oren
Deganit Stern Schocken
Uli Rapp
Sarah Powell
Inca Starzinsky
Tanel Veenre
Nurit David
