Exhibition of Contemporary Jewelry Designers Opens in KY

Lexington, Ky.--A new museum exhibition highlights the works of 36 contemporary jewelry designers.

The Headley-Whitney Museum of Art in Lexington, Kentucky, opened “Convergence” this month, with a gala to celebrate it taking place last weekend.

Convergence features 92 works from 36 artists who belong to the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC).

For more than 25 years, AJDC has asked its members to create a piece of jewelry or objet d’art inspired by a particular concept annually, creating a thematic grouping from a diverse group of artists. This year, the AJDC chose five past themes and is displaying jewelry from all of them under the Convergence umbrella: Ice, Wave, Fire, Transformation and Stripes.

Past projects have been shown at the GIA Museum in Carlsbad, California; the Kent State University Museum in Kent, Ohio; and the now-closed Forbes Gallery in New York City.

The AJDC said pieces are also displayed annually in Las Vegas during jewelry market week; this year, they were shown at the Couture show.

The Headley-Whitney Museum of Art is a fitting venue for this year’s exhibition.

Jewelry designer George Headley III and his wife, Barbara Whitney, founded the museum in 1968. Whitney was the daughter of sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who founded the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City

During his career, Headley had a jewelry boutique in Los Angeles at the Hotel Bel-Air that serviced the Hollywood elite, from Gary Cooper to Judy Garland to Joan Crawford.

When Headley settled down in his native Lexington, he and his wife opened their museum, which includes a jewelry gallery and library, while Headley continued to design.

The AJDC is a nonprofit organization founded by American jewelry designers in 1988. Founding members include Whitney Boin, Michael Bondanza, Henry Dunay, Michael Good, Ron Hartgrove, Jose Hess, Cornelis Hollander and Pascal Lacroix.

The AJDC’s Convergence exhibition at the Headley-Whitney is open now through Sunday, Aug. 19.