The Beautiful & the Grotesque
Dive into the enchanted world of artist William Harper, whose mesmerizing jewelry and sculpture was on view from April 4 through June 14, 2019 in CIA's Reinberger Gallery.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
William Harper
"Harper has foraged an idiom entirely his own. It's hard to think of another artist who fuses the precious and the sordid so completely." –Glenn Adamson
Glenn Adamson is a curator and writer who works at the intersection of craft, design history and contemporary art.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
Atlantis Cask II (1999)
The Exteriors
"Treasure box exteriors became repositories of elaborate encrustations of debris," Harper said about the materials he uses for the boxes.
This debris was a collection of nails, staples, beads, and other mundane items.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
The Interiors
"The box is opened, and a complex jewel is revealed, constructed of precious gold, often further adorned with strange yet beautiful pearls," Harper said about the inside of the box.
Atlantis Jewel (1999)
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
L'Enfant Medusa One (1998–2018)
The sculptural apex consists of bone and shells.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
Glass Gardens Cask II (1999)
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
Inside "Glass Gardens Cask II" (1999)
The inside of the box is embellished and cloaked in reflective materials that glimmer in the light.
Tomb Jewel II (1999)
Nestled in the box rests a one-of-a-kind jewel.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
Trickster's Beads (2002)
Molding the beads
"Each strand would start as a single bead; to me, each was similar to a short musical phrase. As more continued to join the others, no two were ever alike," said Harper about his bead creation process.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
Self-Portrait of the Artist as the Archangel Michael (1996)
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
Flotsam III (2007)
Amethyst encased in gold.
William Harper, The Beautiful & the Grotesque by William HarperCleveland Institute of Art
What inspires Harper?
Harper's influences include ancient Byzantine jewelry, Neolithic sculptures, Alexander Calder, enamel artist June Schwartz, African, Asian, and South American indigenous art, mythological storytelling, and ballet," said Nikki Woods, Director of CIA's Reinberger Gallery.
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