I am currently engaged in two separate bodies of work; the Flight Series and Ornamentality.

The Flight Series has been inspired and informed by all aspects of flight, from man-made to avian. I am expressly interested in our earliest attempts at aviation. These mercurial machines ranged from forms that were elegantly designed to those that were destined to never leave the ground. Much of the work that I have made in this series has combined aspects of these historical contraptions with forms from contemporary aeronautics, particularly turbine engines.

The brooches that make up the Ornamentality Series came about thought recent visits to some of my favorite museums whose collections range from decorative arts to science and industry. I am attracted to a wide range of objects in these collections from the utilitarian to the purely decorative, all made before 1900. What they have in common, be it a steam engine, sewing machine, manhole cover, or watch case, is that their surface design has been aesthetically and carefully considered. I lament that this concept does not often exist in our mass produced, plastic, throw away society. Each piece in this series provides a window in which to call attention to and celebrate these designs.

Chris Irick, 1970, Santa Maria, California, USA.

Education
1998 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Master of Fine Arts, Jewelry and Metalsmithing.
1993 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Jewelry and Metalsmithing.

Museum Collections
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Museum of American Art, Washington D.C. | MUNSON-WILLIAM PROCTOR MUSEUM OF ART, Utica, New York.

Selected recent exhibitions
2008 THE PENDANT SHOW, Velvet da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, California | THE OBJECT & BEYOND: 2008 EVERSON BIENNIAL, Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York |61ST EXHIBITION OF CENTRAL NEW YORK ARTISTS, Munson-Williams-Proctor Museum of Art, Utica, New York.
2007 POLISHED: THREE DECADES OF METAL, UNT artspace FW, Fort Worth, Texas.
2006 JOOLS ROCKS, Jools Gallery, Dallas, Texas | INVESTIGATING SPACE: POSITIVE NEGATIVE/ILLUSION AND TROMPE L=OEIL, Aaron Faber Gallery, New York, New York.
2005 JOOLS ROCKS, Jools Gallery, Dallas, Texas | MADE IN AMERICA: METALS ARTS INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION, Bevier Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York | SAUL BELL DESIGN AWARD EXHIBITION, JCK Show, Las Vegas, Nevada. Finalist, silver category | MATERIALS: HARD & SOFT EXHIBITION, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas | 100 BROOCHES, Traveling exhibition: Velvet da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, California; East Carolina University School of Art and Design; Bellagio Gallery, Ashville, North Carolina; Pacini Lubel Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2004 SOLO EXHIBITION, Pribble Room, Munson-William-Proctor Institute Museum of Art, Utica, New York.
2003 JEWELS & GEMS, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C | CHARMED LIVES: NARRATIVES OF PERSONAL WISDOM, curated by Gail Brown, Facere Art Jewelry Gallery, Seattle, Washington | CRAFTS TRANSFORMED, curated by Gail Brown, U Mass Dartmouth Gallery, New Bedford, Massachusetts | bigLITTLE: JEWELERS & SCULPTORS MAKING IT IN METAL, Crafts Cultural Arts Gallery, Oakland, California | THE BRACELET, Sofa NYC and Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan | MODERN MEDIUM: CONTEMPORARY ART IN NEW YORK STATE, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York | MATERIALS: HARD & SOFT EXHIBITION, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas | 25th ANNUAL CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa. Arizona.
2002 LA PETITE X - Alder Gallery, Coburg, Oregon.

2008 500 PENDANTS & LOCKETS, editor, Marthe Le Van, pages 140, 260, 288.
2006 THE ART AND CRAFT OF MAKING JEWELRY, Joanna Gollberg, pages 22, 37, 65.
2005 THE PENLAND BOOK OF JEWELRY, editor, Marthe Le Van, pages 140, 142. | 500 BROOCHES, editor, Marthe Le Van, page 139.| 500 BRACELETS, editor, Marthe Le Van, page 197.
2004 METALSMITH MAGAZINE, Society of North American Goldsmith, page 34.
2001 METALSMITH MAGAZINE, Society of North American Goldsmiths, Volume 21 Number 3, pages 14, 15.
1999 THE METALSMITH=S BOOK OF BOXES AND LOCKETS, Tim McCreight, pages 52, 63, 73, 98, 115. | METALSMITH MAGAZINE, Society of North American Goldsmiths, Volume 19 Number 5, page 44.
1996 AMERICAN CRAFT, American Craft Council, page 88.