Luxury, consumption, excess—these are words that describe personal habits and social responsibility as well as concepts of wealth, power and status. In a world of diminishing natural resources and trillion dollar debts, when notions of sustainability are increasingly discussed and put into motion, ideas of luxury, consumption and excess deserve renewed examination.

Jewelry, historically (but not exclusively) tied to constructions of wealth and opulence, can function as a material reflection of a society, a natural barometer of what is valued at a certain time, how and why. Several contemporary art jewelers—interested in using jewelry as a way to raise questions and/or awareness about significant cultural issues—consider decadence and extravagance as a conceptual project while others purposefully create objects and “gemstones” with recycled materials. Both directions emphasize the materiality of jewelry as a commodity, as a symbol and as a carrier of meaning. In addition, these jewelers are drawing attention to how we consume materials and objects historically, visually and metaphorically.

Artists whose works are included:

Boris Bally, Harriete Estel Berman, Kathy Buszkiewicz, Gabriel Craig, Meg Drinkwater, Ethical Metalsmiths/Radical Jewelry Makeover, Yael Friedman, Erin Rose Gardner, Lisa Gralnick, Rory Hooper, Yevgeniya Kaganovich, Michelle Hartney, Anya Kivarkis, Opulent Project, Emiko Oye, Shari Pierce, Gary Schott, Kimberlie Tatalick, Francesca Vitali