BRACELETS, BANGLES & CUFFS:
1948 – 2024

Bracelets, Bangles and Cuffs: 1948-2024 features a remarkable collection of contemporary bracelets that reveal the wide-ranging creativity of artists working in this timeless jewelry form between 1948 to today. The exhibition features over 90 examples by international artists that examine cultural, political, and personal meanings wrapped around a wearer’s wrist. The curated collection of bracelets illustrates a wide variety of traditional metalsmithing techniques, experimental methods and materials, and contemporary processes. 

The exhibition highlights many works owned by exhibition organizer Helen Drutt, a renowned educator, gallery owner, author, patron of the arts, and advocate of modern and contemporary craft. Drawing on her many and diverse experiences in the art world, as well as her widely successful RINGS! exhibition with the Metal Museum in 2022, Drutt adds historic context and scholarly weight to the diverse assemblage of bracelets on display. This exhibition was researched by independent curator Ariana Bishop with assistance from Marina Kato-Hurwitz.