Disrupt

Disrupt is an exhibition that celebrates how artists use their creative practice to explore and discover new materials, techniques and the status quo. The Vancouver Metal Arts Association, in partnership with the Craft Council of British Columbia, presented this exhibition on March 12, 2020 at the CCBC Gallery in celebration of 2020 - the Year of Craft. This international show features 31 disruptive artists from all over Canada, the United States, Israel, and Taiwan.Jewellery has a longstanding place in history, commonly referenced as being society's first display of ornamentation and self-expression. Jewellery, as any other art form, has developed over centuries, following trends, movements, methods and materiality of the respective contemporary times. 

Jewellery has a longstanding place in history, commonly referenced as being society's first display of ornamentation and self-expression. Jewellery, as any other art form, has developed over centuries, following trends, movements, methods and materiality of the respective contemporary times. 

Among those markers in history though, there are always artists and craftspeople who seek to forge a different path, one not among the status quo. Whether through concept, material or technique, this exhibition celebrates the disruptors in the field of Canadian contemporary jewellery and metal arts. The artists in this exhibition have pushed, pulled, forged and melted typical expectations of adornment; to disrupt the structure of norms.

The diversity of work presented spans from non-wearable jewellery objects to wearable sculpture, from recycled materials transformed into 'precious metals and jewels' to metal reinterpreted through other craft techniques. The juxtapositions in this collection of works are diverse and vast - a reminder that there is no one, single way to break down structures.