Bruce Metcalf


Born:

1949, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Training / Education:

  • 1967-1972, Syracuse University BFA, 1972
  • 1975-1977, Tyler School of Art MFA, 1977

Work Experience:

  • 1977-78 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
  • 1979-1980 Massachiusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
  • 1981-1991 Kent State University, Kent, OH

Selected Exhibitions (Solo & Group Shows):

  • 2004, 2000, 1992, 1986, 1984, 1982, 1980, 1975: Group Exhibitions, Museum of Arts & Design (formerly American Craft Museum, formerly Museum of Contemporary Craft) New York, NY
  • 2003-2004 "Corporal Identity - Body Language", Frankfurt Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
  • 2003-2005 "The Art of Gold", organized by ExhibitsUSA: Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, CA; University of Richmond Museums, Richmond, VA; The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AK; The Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC; Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, AK; Spenser Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS; J. Wayne Stark University Center Galleries, College Station, TX
  • 2001, 1999, 1996, 1994, 1992, 1990: Solo Exhibitions Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
  • 2000 "Oh My Dear! Amerikaanse sieraden uit de collectie van Museum Het Kruithuis" Museum Het Kruithuis, s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
  • 2000 "Attitude and Action" Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, Birmingham, England; DESIGNyard, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland
  • 1999 "Design for the Body: Onno Boekhoudt, Bruce Metcalf, Kiwon Wang" Hyundai Gallery, Seoul, Korea
  • 1997, 1995, 1979, 1977: Solo Exhibitions Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
  • 1997, 1993, 1989, 1987: Solo Exhibitions Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL
  • 1997-2001 "Designed for Delight: Alternative Aspects of Twentieth-Century Decorative Arts" Montréal Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Ontario, Canada; Cincinnati Art, Museum, OH; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; J. B. Speed Museum, Louisville, KY; Die Neue Sammlung, Munich, Germany; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
  • 1996 "New Times, New Thinking: Jewellery in Europe and America" National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff, Wales; Crafts Council Gallery, Islington, London
  • 1994 "Jewelry 1964 - 1994: Selected works from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection" Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • 1990 "American Dreams, American Extremes" Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst Het Kruithaus, s'Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
  • 1990 Solo Exhibition United States Information Service Gallery, Seoul, Korea:
  • 1989 "Ornamenta 1" Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany
  • 1985 Solo Exhibition Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
  • 1983 Solo Exhibition John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
  • 1982 Solo Exhibition Heller Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1981 "Good as Gold" Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

Awards / Grants:

  • 1996 Pew Fellowship in the Arts
  • 1992, 1977 Artist Grants National Endowment for the Arts
  • 1990 Fulbright Teaching / Research Fellowship, Korea
  • 1988, 1984, 1983 Artist Grants Ohio Arts Council
  • 1980 Artist Grant Massachusetts Artists Foundation

Selected Museum Collections:

  • 2002 Acquisition Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
  • 2002 Acquisition Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
  • 1998 Acquisition Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
  • 1997 Acquisition Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design, New York NY
  • 1996 Acquistion Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
  • 1993 Acquisition Le Museé des Arts Décoratifs de Montréal, Canada
  • 1992 (?) Acquisition Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst, S'Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands

Selected Publications:

  • 2000 Outstanding Artists and Designers of the 20th Century, First Edition. International Biographical Center/ Melrose Press Ltd., Cambridgeshire, England, 2000
  • de Cerval, Marguerite, editor, Dictionaire International du Bijou, Editions du Regard. Paris, 1998
  • Dormer, Peter, and Drutt English, Helen W., Jewelry of Our Time, Thames & Hudson, London,1995
  • Dormer, Peter and Turner, Ralph, The New Jewelry, Trends and Traditions, Thames and Hudson, London, 1985. Revised Edition,1994
  • Margetts, Martina, International Crafts, Thames & Hudson, London, 1991
  • Trapp, Kenneth and Risatti, Howard, Skilled Work: American Craft in the Renwick Gallery Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington & London, 1998
  • Turner, Ralph, Jewelry in Europe and America : New Times, New Thinking, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London and New York, 1996
  • Watkins, David, The Best in Contemporary Jewellery, Quattro Publishing plc, London, 1993
  • Watkins, David, Design Sourcebook: Jewellery, New Holland Publishers, London, 1999.
  • Marquis Who's Who in America , 51st edition, 1996. 52nd Edition, 1998. 53rd Edition, 1999. Marquis Who's Who, New Providence, New Jersey
  • Who's Who in American Art, 21st Edition, 1995. 22nd Edition, 1997. 23rd edition, 1999. 24th edition, 2001. 25th edition, 2003. Marquis Who's Who, New Providence, New Jersey

Artist Statement:

These necklaces and brooches represent a recent departure. They are neither narrative nor conceptual jewelry. Instead, I want to make jewelry that is decorative and comfortably wearable. Beyond that, I want these articles to become the center of attention when they are worn, and thus to make their wearers feel exceptional.

The forms are derived from drawings, and ultimately look back to cartoons. Some of the images are of flowers and leaves; other forms are taken from biology, body parts, letters, the history of the Decorative Arts, or sheer invention.

Most of the colored forms are carved and painted wood. They are reasonably durable, and enable me to make large shapes that are surprisingly light. Metal appears as connections, stems, leaves, and the occasional electroform.