07-11 March 2013
Jessica Turrell and Christja Tritschler
Schmuckgalerie tal20, Munich, Germany

14 February – 17 May 2013
Forming Words
Flow Gallery, London

16 November 2012 – 07 April 2013
Stitching and Thinking – Mending at the Museum
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

20 Jan – 14 April 2013

Play of Form and Color - New Directions in Enameled Jewellery,

The Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany

The miniaturized format of the jewellery form allows me to explore my ideas on an intimate scale. I seek to create evocative objects that might stir an emotional connection and thus give pleasure; not the obvious pleasures associated with the wearing of traditional jewellery but a pleasure more akin to the private enjoyment of finding an interesting stone on a walk and treasuring it as a small, unexpected, prize.

As I make I enter into a dialogue with my materials, trying to discover and explore their unique characteristics. My skill with enamel does not constrain me but serves to liberate; my knowledge of the materials gives me a fluency that allows me the freedom to investigate ideas through the combination of metal and enamel and to achieve the ambiguous and expressive material qualities I seek. I strive to attain a tactile delicacy and a weightiness that positively encourages touch. It is important to me that the pieces I create should reward the wearers close attention with an intricate and detailed surface.

Biography
Jessica trained in jewellery and enamel at Central School of Art, London. She established a studio in Bristol, England, in 1988 an divides her time between studio practice and teaching. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Having been trained in traditional enamel techniques Jessica was inspired by the unconventional approaches to enamel encountered during her involvement in a large public art project in the late 1990s. She has latterly undertaken a sustained period of research into mark making in enamel using non-traditional techniques. This, combined with investigations into printmaking techniques for enamel, formed the focus of her recent postgraduate study at UWE, Bristol, UK. 
Her current studio practice includes the production of both jewellery and larger scale enamel work. In 2007 Jessica was awarded a three year AHRC Fellowship in Creative and Performing Arts based at the University of the West of England, Bristol. The focus of the fellowship, entitled Innovation in Vitreous Enamel Surfaces in Jewellery, was the place of enamel within contemporary jewellery practice.

Jessica Turrell, 1964, Bristol, England.

Education:
1988 Central School of Art and Design, London - Jewellery Design BA Hons Degree
2007 University of the West of England, Bristol - MA Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking 

Public Collections:
Two pieces from the 2010 ‘Hollow-form’ series have been purchased by the Crafts Council (UK) for the Permanent Collection.

Awards:
1991 South West Arts Project Award
1993 South West Arts Project Award
1994 South West Arts Project Award
2007 AHRC Fellowship in Creative and Performing Arts
2008 Devon Guild of Craftsmen Award – Excellence in Enamel

Selected Exhibitions:
1990 Glass, Metal and Fire - Cirencester Workshops, UK
1991 3rd Enamelists Society Juried Exhibition, Covington, Kentucky, USA | 91 International Exhibition of Enamelling Art in Japan, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
1992 11th Biennale Internationale de Limoges, France | British Society of Enamellers, Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin, Clwyd, UK
1993 '94 Goldsmith Fair, Goldsmiths Hall, London
1994 12th Biennale Internationale de Limoges, France
1996 Fahrenheit '96, Kirkland Art Centre, Seattle, USA
1998 Melt Down, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2001 Contemporary Print in Enamel, School of Art Gallery, Kent State University, Ohio, USA
2004 Jewellery-Unlimited, Association for Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, UK
2005 Wearing Glass 2, Oxo Gallery, London
2006 The Art of Enamelling, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
2007 Transformation, mac (Midlands Art Centre), Birmingham, UK | International Badge Exhibition, Hamburg, Germany
2008 International Badge Exhibition, Velvet de Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, USA | 10 Playing With Fire, Devon Guild of Craftsmen touring exhibition, winner of Excellence in Enamel award | Sparkle Plenty, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, Virginia USA | The Pendant Show, Velvet de Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, USA 
2009 Playing With Fire, Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, UK | Playing With Fire, Rhyl Arts Centre, Wales, UK | The Enamel Show, Velvet de Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, USA | Surfacing, Enamelist Society Juried Exhibition, Oakland Art Gallery, USA | Inner Voice, Contemporary Applied Arts, London | International GIRAEFE Enamel Exhibition, Morez, France 
2010 International Enamel Symposium, Erfurt, Germany | Making a Mark, Black Swan Arts, Frome | Collectables 2010, Studio Fusion Gallery, London | ‘Focus’ showcase, Contemporary Applied Arts, London | A Golden Age of Lettering, Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool | Origin, London | Premio Fondazione Cominelli, Italy | 10th International Juried Enamel Exhibition, Lireille Gallery, USA | New Traditional Jewellery – True Colours, award nominees exhibition, SIERAAD, Netherlands; Villa Bengel te Idar Oberstein, Germany: Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, Netherlands | First International Bagués-Masriera Enamel Award (finalist), Barcelona, Spain | In the Frame, Studio Fusion Gallery, London | City, RWA, Bristol
2011 Alchemists, New Brewery Arts, Cirencester | Beneath the Skin, Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery, Sheffield | Mediterraneo, Museum of Natural History, Livorno, Italy | Word Play, Stroud International Textile Festival, The Museum in the Park, Stroud | Ornament, RUA RED, South Dublin Arts Centre, Ireland | Drawing, Permanence and Place, Kunstverein, Coburg, Germany | Origin, London | Surface and Substance – Part 1, Electrum, London | Surface and Substance – Part 2, CAA, London, then Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales
2012 Stitching and Thinking – Mending at the Museum, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK | Beneath the Skin, Galerie Marzee, The Netherlands | Material Value, Constantine Gallery, Teesside University, UK | Badges and Buttons – Waistcoats and Vests, Velvet da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco | Heat Exchange, Shemer Art Centre and Museum, Phoenix, USA | Drawing, Permanence and Place, Craft in the Bay, Cardiff | Suspended, Galerie Gabi Green, Munich | Die Renaissance des Emaillierens, Galerie Handwerk, Munich
2013 Jessica Turrell and Christja Tritschler Schmuckgalerie tal20, Munich, Germany | Play of Form and Color - New Directions in Enameled Jewellery,
The Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany | Forming Words, Flow Gallery, London

Employment:
2007- 2010 AHRC Research Fellow in Enamel, UWE, Bristol
1988-Present own jewellery and enamel workshop in Bristol
1988-2007 Jewellery Tutor, Bristol School of Art
2002-2007 Visiting Enamel Lecturer, UWE, Bristol
1992-1995 Jewellery Tutor, UWE, Bristol
1996 Commissioned Artist/Designer, Taunton Town Centre Redevelopment Scheme 1999-2001 Artist for Bristol Royal Hospital for Children: Commission for Significant and Major Donors Recognition Plaques in enamel for The Grand Appeal 

Professional Activities:
2000-2004 Steering Committee member of Jewellery-Unlimited exhibition, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
2004 Co-editor Jewellery-Unlimited exhibition catalogue
2005-2009 Executive Committee Member for the Association for Contemporary Jewellery
2006-2007 Editor, in association with publishers A&C Black, Association for Contemporary Jewellery, Directory of Members
2010-2011 Curator, Surface and Substance – International Contemporary Enamel Jewellery

Membership:

Association For Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ) | Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) |Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA)

1994 Work included in First Steps in Enamelling, Jinks McGrath, Apple Press, London
2004 Work featured in The Art of Enamelling, Linda Darty, Lark Books, USA
2006 Work included in Enamelling, Ruth Ball, A&C Black, London
2007 Work included in the Association for Contemporary Jewellery, Directory of Members, published by A&C Black, London
2008 Work featured in 500 Pendants, Lark Books, USA | Work selected for inclusion in 500 Enameled Objects, Lark Books USA 
2010 Article ‘Surface and Substance – A call for the fusion of skill and ideas in contemporary enamel jewellery’, Craft Research, Intellect, UK

Studio Fusion Gallery
Oxo Tower Wharf, 
Bargehouse Street
London SE1 9PH, UK

Contemporary Applied Arts
2 Percy Street,
London W1T 1DD