This season we are featuring four new contemporary American Metalsmiths in our galleria. In addition to our in-house created collections, we are spotlighting the work of Jen Surine, Peter Antor, Emma Hoekstra, and Tedd McDonah. Check out the images below and read the artist bios for a sneak preview, or join us in-store to see the entire collections beginning during the Downtown Racine Art Walk on July 20th. See you Downtown!!!
Jen Surine
Jen Surine received her BFA in 2008 from Grand Valley State University and resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The majority of her work is built of wire creating architectural and geometric "openwork” forms resembling three-dimensional lace. Surine incorporates her love of stones by integrating faceted and cabochon gems into some of her pieces. These details come together to create jewelry with an overall ethereal quality.
Peter Antor
Peter Antor received his MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and his BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from Grand Valley State University in 2011. Peter works with a wide range of materials from precious metals to concrete and wood, his body of work ranges from sculptural jewelry to functional lamp work. He is heavily influenced by architecture and says it plays a huge role in his work and designs. Peter is currently working as a visiting professor at Grand Valley State University.
Emma Hoekstra
Emma Hoekstra received her BFA in 2017 from Grand Valley State University and placed as a top 5 finalist for the Halstead Grant in 2018 - A national grant for emerging artists. She enjoys working with bold lines, angular organics, and fabricating dimensional geometrics to create modern elegance. Every piece is made to stand out, encourage, uplift, and build confidence. Personal loss grounds her work; everyone has stories. One can hide it or choose to share it with others. Her work connects her with people and shares her stories.
Tedd McDonah
Tedd started making metal objects and jewelry in 1992 while enrolled in college at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. His main focus after graduating was to become more proficient in production of mokume-gane. He began making decorative and/or allegorical fishing lures while pursuing an MFA at Arizona State University. That, in turn, became the basis for his Masters of Fine Arts thesis. As an educator, he has taught metalsmithing/jewelry/blacksmithing at several colleges/universities, including: University of Toledo, Wayne State University, Rowan University, and Arizona State University.