Evert Nijland / Between Black and White
Gallery Loupe is proud to present an important exhibition of new work by Dutch artist Evert Nijland – Between Black and White. For twenty years Nijland’s objects and jewels have navigated a spectacular course between the primal and sophisticated, raw and genteel, historic and modern, luxe and quotidian, tangible and intellectual. By investigating cultural markers long considered opposite, like ornate Baroque embellishments and conceptual contemporary aesthetics – along with substances as diverse as textile and iron, rope and porcelain, rubber and mole fur – he encourages us to perceive art through an alternate set of criteria. In both free-standing and wearable formats, Nijland seamlessly blends the autonomy of sculpture with the functionality of jewelry. With the exception of Rocaille, a white, pink, and blue necklace which references the Rococo style of the eighteenth century, this current body of work engages the perpetual contradiction between black and white. Necklaces, brooches, and bracelets are combined from a variety of black and white materials, such as leather, ebony, porcelain, flock, silver, and glass, to express the symbolism and emotional impact of light versus dark. For Nijland light, as well as the attendant shades buried in shadow, are directly related to jewelry, exemplified by the contrast between the glittering reflection of precious stones and the gentle pathos of nineteenth century mourning jewelry.Adagio 1 is a brooch that combines wood, glass, textile, silver, steel, and human hair – the last a reference to mourning jewelry as well. In keeping with the traditional use of glass as a substitute for precious and semi-precious stones in ancient and antique jewelry, Nijland has mixed transparent glass with timely mediums like black leather and blackened silver, to fabricate jewels in which some of the silver’s natural shapes and textured surfaces are reminiscent of tree branches or snakes. The necklace, Trumpets, boasts his latest technique – blowing glass directly into a cast hollow silver form. In addition to jewelry, the exhibition will also feature objects such as Shine, a classically-inspired white porcelain cherub-on-stand, garlanded with iron beads and textile. A 1995 graduate of the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Nijland also holds a BA in jewelry and MA in Applied Arts from Sandberg Institute, GRA, also located in Amsterdam. He is the recipient of several international awards, most recently the 2014 Stokroos Grant for Contemporary Silver, Materiaalfonds, the Netherlands. He has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, most recently at CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands in 2016, as well as participating in many group shows internationally. His work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums around the world, including CODA Museum, Apeldoorn; Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; Glass Museum, Tacoma, Washington; and Museum of Arts and Design, New York. The exhibition will run from October 15 – November 5, 2016 at Gallery Loupe, 50 Church Street, Montclair, New Jersey. An opening reception will be held Saturday October 15, 2016 from 6 – 8 pm. Join us to hear Evert Nijland speak about his work at Brooklyn Metal Works, Tues. October 25, 2016 7:30 pm. 640 Dean Street, Brooklyn, NY.