Bracelet (1991) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Chang trained as a graphic artist and sculptor at the Liverpool College of Art, and later studied in Paris under the Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist, Stanley William Hayter. From the 1980s, he dedicated himself entirely to jewellery-making.
Bracelet (1992) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Bracelet (1998) by Peter ChangPforzheim Jewellery Museum
"Plastics in their own right have little intrinsic value. It is the joy of exploring their qualities of malleability, creating colour and sensuality, teasing the materials to obey, exploiting all to the maximum, which gives it value to me."
Bracelet (1995) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Each bracelet began polystyrene base, carefully carved into shape. This was covered with coloured acrylics, and then small details were tweezered into place, adding - perhaps - a sprinkling of glitter. Finally, the surface was sanded to a smooth finish.
Bracelet (1991) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Chang achieved unbelievable gradations of colour in his works, as seen in three studded orange bulbs of this bracelet. He contrasted smooth and spiked surfaces to introduce variety of texture to his unique creations.
Bracelet (2003) by Peter ChangKunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
His bracelets have a sense of the organic and the psychedelic - incorporating structures that resemble honeycombs and compound eyes, exotic plants and deep sea creatures caught mid-metamorphosis. The training of his Surrealist teacher shines through.
Bracelet (1986) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
They also draw from history. Their highly-reflective decoration and over-the-top ostentation recall the kinds of gold and garnet jewellery found at Sutton Hoo - as worn by Saxon heroes.
Bracelet (1992) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Their warmth and weirdness is also reminiscent of the aesthetics of Antoni Gaudí and Joan Miró, the Catalan artists of the early 20th Century.
Untitled study for bracelets (c. 1992) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Chang's sketches show the full range of his imagination, as well as the intricacy of his designs and his keen attention to detail - nothing was left entirely to chance.
Untitled study for bracelets (1994 - 1995) by Peter ChangThe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Peter Chang's jewellery was collected, exhibited, and admired around the world. These excellent examples come from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection, now held at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Take a look and learn more about this fantastic plastic artist.
