5 THEMES • 36 ARTISTS • 92 PIECES • ONE DESTINATION: CONVERGENCE: The American Jewelry Design Group at the Headley-Whitney Museum of Art’ will open to the public on June 13, 2018. A gala opening is scheduled for Saturday, June 23, 2018.
In 1996, AJDC began the annual tradition of asking each member to create a piece of jewelry or object d’art that interprets a single concept or theme. The final product is a collection of unique jewelry pieces joined by a solitary artistic concept.
The annual project pieces are displayed every year in Las Vegas during the June Jewelry Week, with the most recent pieces being displayed at the COUTURE Show. CONVERGENCE will feature nearly 100 selected works by AJDC designers from five of their annual design projects (Ice, Wave, Fire, Transformation and Stripes).
The Headley-Whitney Museum of Art was founded in 1968 by jewelry designer George Headley III and his wife, Barbara Whitney. Headley was born in Lynchburg, VA to a wealthy family, and Barbara Whitney was the daughter of sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the founder of the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City.
Headley had lived and worked in Los Angeles with his own jewelry boutique in the Hotel Bel-Air where his customers included many of the Hollywood elite (Gary Cooper, Judy Garland and Joan Crawford to name a few). Upon returning to his family’s farm in Lexington, KY he continued to design jewelry and bibelots and in 1968 opened the museum with a jewelry gallery and library.
The museum features a fascinating and diverse permanent collection of fine and decorative arts, in addition to hosting both international and regional exhibitions.
The AJDC is thrilled to be working with the Headley-Whitney on this exhibit.
The exhibition will close on Sunday, August 19, 2018.