Pistachios Art Jewelry Gallery is proud to present the work of three innovative artists in our 2018 Summer Exhibition: KNIT|FORM|FUSE featuring Kat Cole, Brooke Marks Swanson, and Leia Zumbro. All three artists explore pattern and structure in materials ranging from sterling silver, gold, steel, enamel, to hand-knit leather.

Midwest native BROOKE MARKS-SWANSON received a BFA in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing from Indiana University and an MFA in Metals from the University of Illinois. Her multi-award winning knit leather and metal work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and has been featured in over 15 publications. Her one of a kind pieces reference the age old tradition of woven structure born from a need to protect ourselves from the elements that manifested one of the original and most widespread variations of human artistry. Through the accumulation of hand knit material scattered with oxidized silver sphere forms, Marks-Swanson hopes to embody and honor the abundance, mystery, and beauty of our night skies and our own celestial bodies.

KAT COLE is a studio artist living in Dallas, Texas who received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and her MFA at East Carolina University. Cole’s work has been exhibited internationally, published in several jewelry publications, and acquired by both private and public collections alike including but not limited to the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. Cole finds meaning through intimate awareness of the places that she inhabits, taking note of both the natural and man- made attributes that distinguish each location. Through the use of steel and porcelain enamel, which are both predominantly industrial materials, Cole interprets the monumental structures into the intimate scale of jewelry using distinctive colors and surface markings to create lightweight, wearable forms for the landscape of the body.

LEIA ZUMBRO is a studio artist living and working in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. After receiving her BFA in Metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University, Zumbro studied at East Carolina University for her MFA. Her work draws influence from patterns and forms found in nature, and says “The presence of formulaic growth patterns in the botanical landscape inspire and intrigue me. Using these seminal patterns as a starting point, I create forms that strive to pique curiosity and familiarity from the viewer.”

Pile Brooch

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