COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG JEWELRY

DEC 13

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG JEWELRY EXHIBIT w/3 cuts

WD/ssw set Nov 8 #518520

WILLIAMSBURG, VA. — Throughout history, personal adornment has reflected the mores and popular tastes of the times, whether it is in the display of wedding rings, watches, earrings or nose rings. “Jewelry: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection,” which opens December 21 and will run through December 2003 at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, will exhibit approximately 20 pieces of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century jewelry from the Colonial Williamsburg collections, most of which have never been exhibited to the public.

“Jewelry” will feature English and American items, including a small gold ring –– excavated from Colonial Williamsburg’s Eighteenth Century historic area –– made by local goldsmith John Broadnax for his young daughter Mary.

Ornamentation from the collection –– necklaces, earrings and brooches –– will be on view. Supporting graphics of oil portraits from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum will show how jewelry was worn in the colonies. Mourning jewelry, in the form of brooches and several rings, including one that is believed to hold the hair of George Washington, will provide further insight into the aesthetic sensibilities of Eighteenth Century Americans.

“Precious and semiprecious stones –– diamonds, rubies, emeralds, topaz  and garnets –– were just as highly prized in the colonial period as they are today, as were gold and silver,” said Marilyn Melchor, guest curator. “Yet visitors may be surprised to discover that some of the prettiest pieces actually were costume jewelry and derived their value entirely from their aesthetic appeal.”

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum is on Francis Street near Merchants Square. For information, 757-220-7724 or www.colonialwilliamsburg.org

SCULPTURECENTER FACILITY

DEC 13

SCULPTURECENTER FACILITY

WD/ssw set Nov 8 #518520

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — SculptureCenter, a nonprofit cultural organization in New York devoted to contemporary sculpture, is opening its new facility at 44-19 Purves Street on December 14.

Designer and artist Maya Lin was selected to renovate and expand the industrial building.

According to SculptureCenter’s Chairman of the Board James Bodnar, “This event marks an important milestone for SculptureCenter. The facility is extraordinary. It, along with SculptureCenter’s expanding exhibition and public programs, contributes significantly to Long Island City’s developing reputation as an international cultural destination.”

SculptureCenter will open its new home with an exhibition of a new body of work by this year’s SculptureCenter prize recipient, Jimbo Blachly. Mary Ceruti, executive director of SculptureCenter said, “The SculptureCenter prize is exemplary of our increased support of contemporary sculptors, providing exposure to a talented artist who has not received the recognition his work merits. We believe that this is an ideal exhibition to inaugurate our new space.”

SculptureCenter’s new location at 44-19 Purves Street, between 43rd and 44th Avenues just north of Court Square, was originally built in 1908 as a trolley repair shop. The steel and brick structure has soaring 40-foot ceilings and a side lot that will provide a unique venue for large-scale artwork. When the multi-phase renovation is complete, the facility will provide approximately 6,000 square feet of exhibition space, live/work space for visiting artists, a reading room, an outdoor sculpture yard, and administrative offices.

For information, 718-361-1750 or www.sculpture-center.org.