Join us for a lunch break with contemporary jewelry artist Dania Chelminsky. Dania will talk about her childhood immigration to Israel from Mexico City and how this experience turned her focus to the body and the material of wood as she pursued a career in metalsmithing.
Dania Chelminsky was born in Mexico City in 1961 and has lived in Israel since 1970. She studied sciences, metalworking, design for the performing arts; in 2018, she received her MA in Integrated Design at the Holon Institute of Technology. From 1988 to 2000, she designed jewelry at her own studio and shop in Tel Aviv. After that, she moved to a studio and started to investigate conceptual directions in the creation of jewelry.
In her work, she combines contrasting materials, mixing organic with synthetic, hard with soft, and crafted with found objects. Intrigued by the points at which these materials intersect, Chelminsky uses traditional metalsmithing techniques to emphasize moments of tension. Her juxtaposition of such disparate elements allows her to tell a story with each of her pieces, inspiring a moment of thought about the way we relate to the world that surrounds us.
Her works have been profiled in international publications such as Metalsmith, Portfolio, Domus, and Lark Books. She has exhibited her work extensively throughout the world, with multiple solo exhibitions presented at Periscope Gallery, Tel Aviv, as well as at Museo Lazaro Galdiano, Madrid. She has also participated in many group exhibitions, including the Tel Aviv Biennial, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv; Alliages Gallery, SHMUCK, Munich, and the Alliages collection, Museum Espace Solidor, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France; the Islamic Art Museum, Jerusalem; the Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece; and Benedikt Aichele Atellier, Paris, France.
This event is free to the public. The Center for Art in Wood interprets, nurtures, and champions creative engagement and expansion of art, craft, and design in wood to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of it. A suggested donation of $5 per person enables us to provide programs and exhibitions throughout the year.
For questions contact Katie Sorenson, Community Engagement Manager at [email protected]