Three exceptional emerging artists, Adam Grinovich, Andrea Janosik and Eun Yeong Jeong talk about the development of their jewelry, which draws on a diverse and innovative palette of materials. Presented by the Society of North American Goldsmiths

Grinovich is represented by Ornamentum, Hudson, NY; Janosik and Jeong are represented by Charon Kransen Arts, New York

Glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra reflects on his work and teaching in the United States over the past 30 years. Jim Schantz, owner/director of Schantz Galleries, will join Tagliapietra in this illustrated talk.

Represented by Schantz Galleries, Stockbridge, MA

Expanding on his curated Exhibition in Print in Metalsmith magazine, celebrated author Garth Clark explores contemporary twists on palatial grandeur and opulence. The lecture will touch on a broad range of artists, including Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Josiah McElheny, Timothy Horn, Kim Cridler, and Anya Kivarkis.

Presented by the Society of North American Goldsmiths

Illustrated, individual presentations by fiber artists Margaret Cusack, Cindy Hickock, Kiyomi Iwata, and Donna Rosenthal.  Camille Cook, president of Friends of Fiber Art International, will announce the recipients of the organization’s 2010 grants. Presented by Friends of Fiber Art International.

Represented respectively by Snyderman Works Galleries, Philadelphia; Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe; Perimeter Gallery, Chicago; Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago

Masters and Apprentices: The European Tradition and Contemporary Jewelry in an American Context

A presentation and panel discussion on the European tradition of goldsmithing; how it contrasts to the American university system, and the relevance of apprenticeship in contemporary jewelry-making. With artists Ayesha Mayadas, India; Peter Schmid, Germany; Juha Koskela, Finland; Britt Anderson North Carolina, USA; Liz Tyler, UK; Christian Streit, Germany; So Young Park; Stephen LeBlanc; Patricia Kiley Faber, gallery director/owner, Aaron Faber Gallery, NY.

Moderated by art historian Sue Barry

Artist Clifford Rainey articulates the methodology and inspiration for his glass art. The talk includes an historical overview of his art punctuated with images of individual works and the original sources that sparked his initial idea.

Represented by Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI

The BAM Biennial, a juried exhibition at the Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM), Bellevue, WA brings attention and exposure to the work of contemporary artists in the Pacific Northwest. The Museum designates a concentration for each exhibition whether it is a specific medium, technique, process, or theme; the focus of this year’s exhibition is clay. Stefano Catalani, director of curatorial affairs/artistic director at Bellevue Arts Museum, looks at the work of the 34 artists selected for the inaugural exhibition.

Expert advice from the insurance, art handling and gallery worlds on how to protect precious art objects and investments. Dorit Strauss, Worldwide Specialty Fine Arts Manager, Chubb Personal Insurance; Geoff Browne, Senior Project Manager and Shop Manager, Terry Dowd, Inc.; Dennis DuBois, Collector; moderated by Scott Jacobson, Owner, Scott Jacobson Gallery, NY.

Art Jewelry Forum board members Susan Cummins, former gallery owner and now director on the Rotasa Foundation Board and Chair of AJF and Susan Kempin, Secretary of AJF and a collector of contemporary jewelry, discuss the role of active viewing and the development of Art Jewelry Forum as an organization that promotes dialogue regarding viewing, collecting, wearing, owning, and displaying contemporary jewelry. Directly following this talk Agnes Larsson, this year's Art Jewelry Forum Emerging Artist Award winner from Stockholm Sweden will discuss her work.

Presented by Art Jewelry Forum

Preceding the lecture, SOFA will present the 2010 New Voices: A Grant for Discourse on International Contemporary Decorative Arts award check to Art Jewelry Forum.

A collector, a curator, and a former assistant gallery director discuss the lives and legacy of Anne and Jacques Baruch, the legendary dealers who introduced Eastern European textile artists, including Magdalena Abakanowicz, to Chicago audiences in the 1970s. The talk is presented in conjunction with the special exhibit at SOFA CHICAGO by the same name. Fiber art collector Fern Grauer was a close friend of the Baruchs for 30 years. She is currently president of the Textile Society of the Art Institute of Chicago and a board member of Friends of Fiber Art International.  Christa C. Mayer Thurman, Emerita, the Art Institute of Chicago, chair and curator of the Department of Textiles (1967 – 2009), founded the Textile Society of the Art Institute of Chicago and initiated the 20th Century textile collection at the Art Institute. She was acquainted with the Baruchs for many years; several textiles that the couple brought from behind the Iron Curtain entered the Art Institute’s collection. Barbara Kalwajtys is curator of the Baruch Foundation. Formerly assistant director of the Anne and Jacques Baruch Collection, she worked with Anne Baruch for nearly two decades. Rhonda Brown, co-curator of browngrotta arts, Wilton, CT, has promoted international contemporary textiles through exhibitions and publications for more than 20 years.

Artist Philip Baldwin talks about his and Monica Guggisberg's new boat sculptures and battuto, a surface finishing technique that opened doors to a world of color and texture. While the boats represent life's journey, filled with companions, possessions and artifacts, the battuto cuts reflect the impressions they make on our lives.

Represented by David Richard Contemporary, Santa Fe

Is Ornament a Crime? Rethinking the Role of Decoration in Contemporary Wood

In recent decades, surface decoration has played an increasing role in wood art as artists have moved away from the simple, unadorned forms of the past. This panel will debate the role of ornament in contemporary wood as well as the effect of this aesthetic change on the field.  Artists David Ellsworth, Christian Burchard and Binh Pho, moderated by Cindi Strauss, Curator, Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Presented by Collectors of Wood Art

All artists are represented by del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles

An insider’s look at the first comprehensive survey of studio craft in the United States, presented by co-authors Janet Koplos, freelance critic and Bruce Metcalf, studio jeweler and independent scholar; with Katie Lee, assistant director, The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, UNC Asheville.

The discussion will be followed by a book signing.

Bruce Metcalf is represented by Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia PA

Isaac Levy, designer and owner of Yvel Jewelry Gallery in Jerusalem, will talk about the soon-to-open Andrea Bronfman School of Jewelry and Art at the Yvel Design Center in Jerusalem. The school is devoted to teaching Ethiopian immigrants the art of making fine jewelry. Levy is also a board member of the Association for Israel’s Decorative Arts. Introduction by collector Doug Anderson

The Rebirth of Craft

An illustrated look at the emerging global nexus of craft, design, and fine art, the evolution of new directions and materials and the effect on the new generation of artists and collectors. Lewis Wexler, owner, Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, former assistant vice president of 20th Century Decorative Arts, Christie's, NY; Emily Zilber, Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Suzanne Lovell, architect, interior designer & co-founder, Twill Textiles; Brook Mason, journalist, The Art Newspaper and artnet.com; David McFadden, chief curator and vice president of the Museum of Arts and Design, NY; Timothy Schreiber, artist, Wexler Gallery.

A panel discussion of the recently created Andrew Glasgow Writers Residency Program at Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina. The program provides writers with the opportunity to observe, experience, and write without interruption, using Penland’s active crafts community as a catalyst for new ideas. Andrew Glasgow, former director, American Crafts Council, NY; Lydia Matthews, writer and Academic Dean, Parsons School of Design, NY; Dana Moore, program director, Penland School of Crafts; Rob Pulleyn, artist and founder of Fiberarts Magazine and Lark Books; Ingrid Schaffner, curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. Introduced and moderated by Jean McLaughlin, director, Penland School of Crafts

Artist Peggy Eng talks about her sculptural jewelry, which she carves out of aluminum and anodizes. In addition to her own work Eng, a long-time advocate of fair trade, will recall her recent involvement with jewelry artisans in Peru on design development for a Western market. Presented by the Society of North American Goldsmiths

Represented by Aaron Faber Gallery, New York

Master wood artists and major collectors explore the strong and close relationship between artists and collectors and their influence on each other. With master wood artists William Hunter, Jacques Vesery, and Stoney Lamar; major collectors Ruth Waterbury and Arthur Mason; and Harvey Fein, master wood artist and collector. Moderated by Jeffrey Bernstein, president, Collectors of Wood Art. Presented by Collectors of Wood Art

Renowned ceramic artist Karen Karnes has created some of the most iconic pottery of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Peter Held and Mark Shapiro will provide insights into her work and the communities in which she worked, including Black Mountain College, NC and Gate Hill, NY. Held is curator of ceramics at the Ceramics Research Center, Arizona State University Art Museum and curated Karnes’s retrospective exhibition at the Museum. Shapiro has been a studio potter for nearly three decades and is the editor of the newly-released monograph, A Chosen Path: The Ceramic Art of Karen Karnes, published by University of North Carolina Press.

Represented by Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA

Artist Tammy Garcia discusses her career, from her beginnings as a Pueblo potter pushing the boundaries of tradition, to the limitless possibilities of her geometrical and often architectural, sculptural forms. Garcia will discuss the ways she has bridged the aesthetic divide between different media, and how working simultaneously in them affects her overall sense of design. 

Represented by Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe

Shinya Yamamura will briefly explain the history of Urushi lacquer in Japan and Asia as well as the techniques, materials, and methods used to create his decorative works of art. Introduction by freelance critic Janet Koplos. 

Represented by Ippodo Gallery, New York

From the Center to the Edge:
Celebrating 60 years of Creativity and Innovation at the Archie Bray Foundation

Steven Young Lee, director of the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, MT, traces the threads of innovation throughout the history of the Archie Bray Foundation and shares plans for the Bray’s 60th anniversary in June, 2011.

David Mc Fadden, chief curator and vice president of the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), NY, looks at the eroding boundaries of three fields--craft, art, and design -- as revealed in the past half century of glass, focusing mostly on American developments. MAD is the recipient of Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass’s annual award for an institution furthering the studio glass movement.