Lisa Walker (jeweller)

Lisa Walker (born 1967, Wellington) is a contemporary New Zealand jeweller.[1]

Education and training in New Zealand

Walker graduated from Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin, in 1988 with a Certificate in Craft Design.[2] In Dunedin her tutors included German-trained jeweller Georg Beer and Swiss-trained jeweller Kobi Bosshard.[3] After completing her studies, Walker moved to Auckland, where along with Areta Wilkinson, Anna Wallis and Helen O’Connor she established the jewellery workshop Workshop 6.[4]

Training and work in Germany

In 1995 Walker moved to Germany, and from 1995–2001 studied under jeweller Otto Kunzli at the ‘Klasse Kunzli’ at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München in Munich.[2] In Munich, Walker established a successful international career as a jeweller, including being recognised with the 2010 Françoise van den Bosch Award for “work of an outstanding quality that influences and appeals to younger generations of artists internationally”.[2][5] In 2009 Walker returned to Wellington with her partner, jeweller Karl Fritsch.[2]

Work

Walker's work “questions conventional concepts about jewellery’s beauty and wearability”[3]:174 by using second-hand items and materials found in hobby stores, as well as non-traditional techniques such as glueing materials together.[2] Materials she has incorporated into her jewellery include rubber bands, wood dowelling, sequins, tape, leather, paua shell veneer, stuffed toys, artificial grass, freshwater pearls, steel, lacquer and fabric.[6] Art historian Dionea Rocha-Watt observes that Walker 'may have abandoned some traditional skills but is still referencing the history of jewellery, with a great sense of colour and composition.'[7]

In a 2008 interview Walker said:

I work on several ideas and pieces at once, and don't prepare for exhibitions − I show where I'm at, at that particular time. Sometimes I work with an idea, sometimes with a certain material. Sometimes an influence repeats itself in pieces over a few years, sometimes one piece is sufficient.[6]

She has also collaborated with performance art/music group Chicks on Speed, initially when she met the participants while studying in Germany, but also in shows in New Zealand, contributing pieces from unused costumes, or works specifically created for performances.[8]

Collections and exhibitions

Her work is held in a number of public collections, including the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.[9]

Significant exhibitions include:

For the '['Obstinate Object exhibition of contemporary sculpture] at City Gallery Wellington in 2012 Walker contributed a sitespecific piece called BROOCH, where a brooch fastening and steel safety chain were affixed to a gallery ceiling, suggested a visitor could 'wear' the building.[11][12]

Her work was also included in Collecting Contemporary and Bone Stone Shell at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (in 2011–12 and 2013–2014 respectively).[2][13]

References

  1. ↑ Freeman, Warwick (2014). Wunderrūma. Wellington: Hook and Sinker Publications. ISBN 9780987668530.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Lisa Walker: Pendant". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Skinner, Damian; Murray, Kevin (2014). Place and Adornment: A history of contemporary jewellery in Australia and New Zealand. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i. ISBN 9781454702771.:172
  4. ↑ Hacking, Lily (2012). "Lisa Walker". Art Zone 43. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Lisa Walker". The National. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Skinner, Damien (2015). "Lisa Walker Bricoleur". Metalsmith 35 (1): 52–59.
  7. ↑ Rocha-Watt, Dionea (March 2010). "Lisa Walker’s speculations in glue". The Journal of Modern Craft. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  8. ↑ D'Agostino, Kristin; Foltz, Craig (Spring 2010). "Bold, new and curious forms". Art News New Zealand: 95.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Lisa Walker - Unwearable". Objectspace. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Chicks on Speed and Lisa Walker present TOUCH ME BABY I'M BODYCENTRIC, A MULTIMODALPLOSION!". City Gallery Wellington. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Obstinate Object". City Gallery Wellington.
  12. ↑ "Lisa Walker - BROOCH". City Gallery Wellington. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Lisa Walker: Pushing the boundaries". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

External links