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On Friday, February 3rd, the 8th installment
of SCC’s Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize Exhibition, Transformation 8: Contemporary Works in Small Metals, was unveiled
to the public! Raphael Prize-winner Meghan Patrice Riley traveled to Pittsburgh
from her New York City studio to attend the opening reception and accept the
award, comprising a $5,000 cash prize and the purchase of her winning piece, Interstitial, for SCC’s permanent
collection.
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| Bisected-Cones Part of the Transformation 8 Exhibition |
During the reception, Riley delivered an excellent talk about her
work and artistic process. In case you missed it, you can check out a video
recording of her remarks on SCC’s You Tube page.
Riley draws inspiration from her background in mathematics and
geometry and it definitely shows in each of her pieces. Born in Anaheim, CA, she
studied economics and fine art in Toulouse, France before completing her B.A.
in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002. To create her
independent line, she joined a collective art studio in San Francisco’s
emerging Mission District, where she held open studios and art shows, before
relocating to her present space in New York.
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| Mobius-Strip and Bottle-Cap Earrings, 2011 |
About her winning piece, Interstitial,
Riley says, “I want to show the starts and stops by creating a
circular neckpiece reflecting a cycle. Counterclockwise the bottom right starts
with an arrow leading the viewer to the top where there is a tipping point, and
then coming around to the bottom a crescendo of interconnected, volumetric
Möbius strips that cycle back to the origin. The Möbius strips are
non-orientable and therefore have one side, illustrating an additional layer to
the cyclical aspect of the piece.”
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| Meghan Patrice Riley, Interstitial, 2011 Raphael Founder's Prize Winning Piece |
I was lucky enough to sit in on the final stage of jurying for Transformation 8 and got to handle
Riley’s winning piece myself. I have to admit, I was wary of handling the
necklace because it looked so fragile and delicate. Once I picked it up,
though, I was pleasantly surprised! Not only light and wearable, it felt almost
electric from the moment I picked it up; the gold beads jumped along the wires
as I interacted with it. All of the jurors seemed to feel the same way about
the piece, commenting about its transformative nature as you look at it, handle
it and wear it. Juror Bruce Pepich might have put it best when he described
Riley’s work as “a three dimensional drawing” reminiscent of “a jazz riff.”
Other words I heard repeated about Riley’s piece were “refreshing”, “whimsical”
and “transformative”. It was really fascinating listening to the comments of
each juror as they approached their final decision and even more interesting to
watch each of them respond so similarly to Riley’s piece after having a chance
to handle it!
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| One Triangle, 2011 Part of the Transformation 8 Exhibition |
The 33 outstanding finalists for the Raphael Prize submitted works
that somehow address the theme of transformation and Riley’s winning necklace certainly
accomplishes this in the way it continuously transforms on the wearer’s body.
Because of its flexible nature, it looked slightly different, but equally
stunning, on each juror that tried it on and I think that’s part of the real
beauty of this piece. Transformation
8 features seven pieces of Riley’s jewelry, most of which can be
purchased and taken home after the exhibition closes on June 30, 2012. In each
work she mixes fine and industrial metals to fashion both a delicate and
durable end product.
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| Bow-tie Necklace from the Axis Mundi line |
Curious about her other bodies of work? Stop by SCC’s Store to see
some colorful wire pieces from her 2011 Axis Mundi line that you wouldn’t have
to wait to take home!
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| Descend Earrings from the Axis Mundi line |
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