Designer Gijs Bakker (b. 1942) is considered to be a pioneer in the field of jewelry design. Trained as a jewelry designer at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, the discipline of jewelry design has always remained the ‘core-business’ in Bakker’s career. He quickly made his mark on the development of jewelry design in the Netherlands. Initially working with Emmy van Leersum (1930-1984), he wrested jewelry from its purely decorative status and gave it a meaningful place in the world of art and design. His attention to the concept and intrinsic meaning of jewelry has remained a constant factor in his oeuvre and a review his work in the last 50 years produces a fascinating survey that can be read as a cultural diary. As a portrait of an era, Bakker’s work expresses a critical undertone that stems from an engagement with various art movements such as Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and Pop Art. It is telling that Bakker seldom designs a single piece of jewelry but virtually always produces a series in which one idea is developed in different ways. This is sometimes a formal starting point, as in the series of aluminium jewelry (1967-71). Most of his work, however, is based on a theme, such as the enormous neck jewelry comprising laminated photographs of regally worn necklaces (“Queens” series, 1977), the series of brooches combining photos of sports celebrities with precious stones (Sportsfigures series 1986-1988), or the ‘Holy Sport’ (1998) and the “I Don’t Wear Jewels, I Drive Them” (2001) series.

The Liberating Form 1963-1973

Gouden ui, 1965; yellow gold 750; 85 x 70 x 40 mm; one off, not signed.

Beginning with his earliest designs, Bakker felt compelled to push against the weight of the craft tradition. His earliest experiments. such as Gouden ui (1965) represent an attempt to seize control of the materials and force it into almost impossible forms. It was through this intimate knowledge of the possibilities of a particular medium, that he--as well as a group of colleagues that included Emmy van Leersum, Nicholaas van Beek, Francoise van den Bosch and Bernard Lameris—could liberate jewelry from its roots in craft and consider it an

Neck Ornament: Shoulder piece/Halskraag, 1967; aluminium; 360 x 337 x 230 mm; one off, not signed.

equal to other disciplines in the fine arts. Work from this period refocused on creating a harmonious form related to the body but created out of pure necessity. This paralleled the principles behind the abstract geometric formal

Neck Ornament: Stovepipe Necklace, 1967; aluminium, purple anodised; 170 x 55 mm; one off, not signed.

style that dominated Dutch painting during this period, but Bakker’s designs were confined to melding form and function—that is, as an object to be worn. This separated his work from the mediums of painting and sculpture. It was during this period, that Bakker created large collars such as Stovepipe Necklace (1967) as well as Neck Ornament/Shoulder Piece (1967). The use of industrial materials used in these works served to emphasize the relationship between body and form, ultimately undermining the traditional preconceptions of jewelry as ornament or as a precious object.

The Medium is the message 1976-1983

Head Ornament: Profile Ornament for Emmy van Leersum, 1974; stainless steel; 220 x 152 x 214 mm; one off, not signed.

By the mid-1970s, Bakker’s interest in geometric form evolved into a sole interest in the individual to determine the form of the object. Beginning with his Shadow Jewelry (1973), Bakker eventually turned to unique features such as the profile as the source for the form of his designs. For Profile Necklace, and his series of Profile Brooches, the object could only be worn by one individual, again questioning the purpose and function of jewelry and its relationship to the wearer. The same principle also directed the production of Bib/Slab (1976), where a black and white photograph of the wearer’s chest was printed on a piece of fabric and worn around the neck like a baby’s bib. For Bakker, these were forms that not only stressed the individual but the wearer’s physical identity.

Necklace: Margrethe, from the “Queens” series, 1977; color photograph, PVC; 40 x 1 mm; one off, signed “Gijs Bakker”.

Influenced by the work of Bruce Naumann which Bakker saw in the 1977 Documenta, his work in this period sought to counter collectivist spirit of the preceding decade. Taking an almost aggressive stance, his “Queens” series of laminated photographs of necklaces mocked the ritualistic and charming aspects of jewelry, evoking the relative value of that which is real verses that which is imitated by substituting actual jewels for an inexpensive facsimile.

Reconsiliation and Virtuosity: 1985 to the present

Brooch: Bubka from the “Sportsfigures” series, 1988; yellow gold 585, newspaper, PVC; 190 x 65 x .5 mm; one off signed “GB 88”. Executed by Tobias Van Roojen.

After the death of his wife, Emmy van Leersum in 1984 came the appearance of three series brooches and necklaces employing the laminated photograph as part of the work. In Bakker’s “Sportsfigure” brooches, the artist appropriates a banal subject of mass culture such as sports and combines the image with precious stones or metals. This interest in the human body in motion combined with art history eventually led to such necklaces as Adam (1988), and Titiaan (David) (1987). In a third series “Bouquet Brooches”, the real beauty of the stone is mounted in the false splendor of a bouquet of flowers depicted in a picture postcard.

Necklace: Adam, 1988; gold plated brass 750, color photograph, PVC; 312 x 284 x 9 mm; numbered edition. Executed by Aldo Bakker, Florian Göttke and Rudi Sand.

Brooch: Bouquet Brooch from the “Bouquet Brooches” series, 1989; white gold 750, tourmaline, color photograph, PVC; 100 x 110 x 15 mm; one off, signed GBakker ‘89”.

Bracelet: Shot 6 (2 shots) from the “Shot” series, 1998; silver 925, yellow gold 750; 85 x 65 x 69 mm; limited numbered edition (10). Executed by Aldo Bakker and Florian Göttke.

Similtaneous with this continuous use of basic materials and mundane subjects was a return to his earlier investigations of form from the early 1970s. Influenced by the ways that digital technologies were being employed in the field of architecture and design, his research into the removal of material while retaining its structure eventually led to his “Shot” bracelets. For this series, the motion of the objects creation is imitated through the form. The bullets are shoot into a sphere from different angles, creating holes in the surface and bulges on the edges. These works require modeling through a computer program as well as a mechanical mastery of creating the perfect mould in which to cast the form.

Despite this short return to technique and form, 1998 marked a return to subjects of mass culture and consumerism. In Bakker’s “Holysport” series, he replaced the head and arms of Christ with that of a famous soccer star, thus comparing sports with religion. In his series “I Don’t Wear Jewels, I Drive Them,” huge precious stones are set into photographs of luxury cars. More sardonic, yet more subtle in their messages, these two series reflect the culmination of Bakker’s attitude to jewelry both conceptually and through the tangible form.

Brooch: Cellini with Ball from the “Holysport” series, 1998; white gold 585, diamond, silver 925, digitally altered photograph, Plexiglas; 113 x 93 x 5 mm; limited numbered edition (5). Executed by Pauline Barendse.

Ultimately Bakker’s constant drive to revitalize his work does not just have a passive, uncontrollable influence on the professional field of jewelry. In co-founding the Chi Ha Paura…? Foundation, which is solely dedicated to jewelry, he deliberately created a framework in which he challenges other designers and artists to produce new ideas, materials, and techniques.

From the outset Bakker’s work has attracted international attention and it is found in numerous public and private collections. Previous publications about his work, such as

Brooch: Car Crash from the “I Don’t Wear Them, I Drive Them” series, 2001; silver 925, white gold 585; diamond, sapphire, color photograph, Plexiglas; 52 x 113 x 7 mm; limited numbered edition (5). Executed by Pauline Barendse.

Gijs Bakker Ontwerper - Solo voor een solist (Gijs Bakker Designer - Solo for a soloist) and Objects to use’ examine his influence and work as a designer and founder of Droog Design. Both the exhibition and the catalog, Gijs Bakker and Jewelry is the first comprehensive overview of his jewelry. The catalog has become a standard reference that includes an extensive introduction by Ida van Zijl, a complete overview of his oeuvre to date, and a biography of Bakker with a complete bibliography.

Rittenhouse Satellite Gallery
210 W. Rittenhouse Square, third Floor
Deep: New Paintings by Vincent Romaniello

Untitled 727, 2007; 28 x 54 inches, mixed mediums on canvas; courtesy of the artist.

Vincent Romaniello’s paintings draw inspiration from images culled from spacecraft and satellites that illustrate human activity on the planet. It is these images of the surface of the earth from great distances that influence the formal aesthetics of his abstract paintings. Due to the method Romaniello uses to achieve the textural appearance of his pieces, they resemble both painting and sculpture. The surfaces of his work have such deep furrows and are highly structured that they change as the viewer approaches the work from different angles.

Romaniello is able to achieve the rich texture of these paintings through a unique use of many materials. As Romaniello states “There is no paint or painting in the traditional sense. One of the most important parts of my approach is to use gesso as a sculptural medium using handmade tools that resemble rakes. By sprinkling dried pigments or ground charcoal, sand and other materials into the gesso mixture, the image emerges. The entire creative process has to happen in the very short period of time that gesso mixture is still wet.” Because the viscous nature of the materials, the edge of the thick painting surfaces often continue around the sides. The resulting works expose the process and the surface as a single cohesive form.

Romaniello’s work has been shown in many solo and group exhibitions, and is included many public and private collections around the United States. Recent solo and two person exhibitions include: The Urban Canvas, Gallery Siano, Philadelphia, PA (2005); the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Artworks Gallery (2004); Westiminster Seminary, Glenside, PA (2004); Terra Spiritus, Parallels Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (2003); Five Year Survey, Markheim Art Center, Haddonfield, NJ (1995); Old World, New Dreams, The Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA (1004). The most recent group exhibitions include: Pattens in Painting, Diamond Newman Gallery, Boston, MA (2007); Color, Carbon 14, Philadelphia, PA (2007); Color Reflex, Artizen Fine Arts, Dallas, TX (2007); AltGeo, Green Line Art Projects, Philadelphia, PA (2007); Order(ed), Gallery Siano, Philadelphia, PA (2006); allTURNatives: Form + Spirit, Wood Turning Center, International Turning Exchange exhibition, Philadelphia, PA (2006); Engaging the Structural, Broadway Gallery, New York, NY (2005); Works on Paper, Bentley Projects, Phoenix, AZ (2004); Luminosity, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA (2004); Inner Circles, traveling group exhibition, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA and Sharadin Gallery, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA (2004); Annual Invitational Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA (2004); Journey Within, traveling group exhibition, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA and the Morrison Gallery, Penn State University, Harrisburg, PA (2003); Nature Reined, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR (2002); and Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy (2001). Romaniello recently completed a residency at the International Turning Exchange in Philadelphia and has received a Special Opportunity Stipend from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He has also received the Claire Breheme Memorial Prize during the 2002 Abington Annual at the Abington Art Center, and a first prize in painting at the 1996 Art of the State held at the State Museum in Harrisburg, PA.

Archived Exhibits