Jason Jacques Gallery presents All that Glitters, an exhibition that combines the talents of contemporary jeweler William Ehrlich and ceramist Clément Massier (1845-1917). The pairing of masterworks by the two artists, presented side-by-side for the first time, seeks to explore the connections between art pottery and jewelry as an homage to Art Nouveau design. The show opens on December 14, 2017 and continues through January 28, 2018, at 29 East 73rd Street.
“Ehrlich and Massier share the insatiable desire to transcend conventional definitions of design, form, and ornamentation,” says Jason T. Busch, director of Jason Jacques Gallery. “Bil’s (one l) incomparable jewelry has pride of place beside the iridescent, timeless masterworks of noted ceramist Clément Massier, in a jewel box exhibition staged 100 years after Massier’s death.”
William Ehrlich produces innovative pieces of jewelry influenced by his lifelong artistic interests. After working in the fields of architecture and real estate design, Ehrlich fully turned to laser-cut jewelry seven years ago. Each of his designs is the result of digitalized drawings that come to life through an AutoCAD graphic computer program. After polishing each piece, Ehrlich plates them with black rhodium and incorporates precious stones. The combination of all these elements results in a technically powerful body of work and unique pieces of jewelry.
Says Jason Jacques, principal of his eponymous gallery: “The true Renaissance man is a myth to most non-believers. The world likes to compartmentalize abilities and write them off as a hobbyist when they break the mold and reform themselves. Anyone who sees Bil’s jewelry, or knows him, will vouch for his artistic brilliance. Bil is proof that the myth is real.”
Ehrlich is an avid collector of contemporary art and modern decorative arts. “My collection of Clément Massier ceramics has been assembled over the past 30 years,” says the artist. “It is a real source of inspiration to which I relate with my own artistic practice.”
Born into a family of ceramists, Clément Massier took an interest in the business from an early age. He began to produce a unique type of luster glaze in his factory-gallery complex in Golfe-Juan, France shortly after settling there in 1883. Massier was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, and became an official supplier of ceramics to the British crown.
As one of the preeminent collectors of Massier ceramics, William Ehrlich provides a unique point of view to a curated display of the work of the undisputed pioneer of modern French ceramics. All That Glitters brings together seemingly dissimilar yet remarkably related work produced a century apart.
