Between April 11, 2018 and May 11, 2018, Mahnaz Collection mounted the exhibition London Originals: The Jeweler’s Art in Radical Times, featuring over 150 jewels from the 1960s and ‘70s at Wright, 980 Madison Avenue in New York City. The exhibition showcased jewelers working in London during a period of seismic changes in the arts, architecture, technology, design, fashion, music, women’s rights and youth culture. The sheer force of their free design sensibility fostered a renaissance in jewelry, resuscitated the moribund British jewelry world and made London relevant once more as a hub of jewelry innovation. This exhibition aims to provide new visibility in the United States for the London Originals, many of whom had devoted American collectors. Their influential and timeless modern jewelry merits attention from new jewelry audiences as well as those interested in art and design. A 150 page, illustrated catalog presents the jewelry; an essay with new research on the London Originals and their place in the cultural history of the 1960s and ‘70s by Mahnaz Ispahani; and an essay showcasing four modern jewelers by British jewelry authority Joanna Hardy. To read more, purchase the catalog here.
