Public elf service

Wellington last week was dominated by Hobbits including a Hobbit Artisan Fair with Elfin weaving, Wizard treats and Goblin snow freeze to go. We even had Barry (Edna Everage) Humphries telling us “Peter Jackson has turned Wellington into the artistic capital of the Southern Hemisphere." (thanks Barry, good to know)

Fortunately Jeweller Karl Fritsch (we suspect not entirely innocently) ended the week on a high note by setting up his own fair in the Hamish McKay Gallery on Saturday. Cadging work from friends and artists Fritsch assembled a candelabra themed show that also included a few of his own brilliant free wheeling efforts. (Thanks Karl).

Ring me

Having a world rated jeweler like Karl Fritsch living in New Zealand has certainly upped interest in jewelry as art. Whoever snapped up Francis Upritchard’s Brown Sloth Creature for $22,900 at the last Webb’s auction also snaffled around $9,000 worth of Fritsch rings. They had been slipped onto the sloth’s fingers (do sloths even have fingers?) and certainly made the work something of a bargain. 

At the Govett-Bewster's recent Stealing Senses exhibition (also seen at Hamish McKay Gallery), Fritsch, Upritchard and Gamper proposed that craftspeople and artists work together to make “total art” and “break down the distinction between amongst art, craft and design.” Of course they were talking more than just crossovers, but it did set us on the hunt for artists who have worked in a craft mode and, in particular, with jewelry. Here's what we found in a first sweep.

Images top to bottom, left to right: Alexander Calder necklace, Robert Indiana ring, Max Ernst brooch, Tim Noble and Sue Webster cuff-links, Salvador Dali brooch, Roy Litchtenstein pin, Lucio Fontana arm bracelet and Damien Hirst cuff-links. And for a special treat, check out some of Karl Fritch’s work here.