Shining DESPAIR
Donald Friedlich
USA
Brooch/Pendant “Lumina Series Brooch”, 2024
Glass coated with vaporized quartz and metallic oxides, borosilicate glass, 14k gold
Slumped, cold worked, fabricated, glued
Photo : Sanders Visual Images
Brooch/Pendant ”Lumina Series Brooch”, 2023
Glass coated with vaporized quartz and metallic oxides, borosilicate glass, 14k gold
Cold worked, fabricated, glued
Photo : Sanders Visual Images
When worn, jewelry also moves. It is, in fact, the rare medium that is meant to be seen in motion. My work has often explored this kinetic aspect of jewelry.
In my Lumina Series, the glass brooches appear to dramatically change in color as the wearer moves. In this way they echo the way we experience our emotional lives. At one angle they may be vibrant and alive, infused with the bright, optimistic colors of sunrise. Even in modest ambient light, they sparkle and appear lit from within.
At another angle the colors may deepen, like sunlight tempered by cloud cover or fog. They retain the qualities inherent to polished gems, but there is a subdued melancholy to their intensity. While photos can capture only a single angle, when viewed in person, the shifting colors in these brooches speak to the variability of human emotion. Joy and despair coexist in each piece.