We would love to check out the latest installation currently running at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (but it’s a long drive from Scottsdale). It’s called “Beyond Bling” and presents jewelry worthy of the status of art, not mere adornment. This includes a ring that Bernhard Schobinger made in 2010 by impaling a chunk of smoky quartz on a countersink nail [pictured above].
“Beyond Bling showcases an extraordinary assemblage of contemporary studio jewelry from the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The exhibition, which features a selection of 50 works from the gift of over 300 pieces from collector Lois Boardman, explores the use of nontraditional materials and techniques, the ways jewelry can communicate personal or political messages, and the medium’s potential to shock and delight. The collection is the first of its kind to enter a museum on the West Coast.”