Resume

 

BIOGRAPHY OF ABRASHA

1948
1973-75
1975-76
1976-77
1977
1977
1978

1979-82
1979-pres.

1982
1985-86
1986-pres.
1988
Born in The Hague, Holland
Goldschmiedeschule, Pforzheim, West-Germany
apprenticeship, completed with journeyman goldsmith exam
Goldsmith for Professor Klaus Ullrich, Würm, West-Germany
Granted "Master's Sign" by Chief Essayer of Amsterdam, Holland
Immigration into the United States
Instructor of Advanced Metal Techniques at CaliforniaCollege of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
Instructor at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, San Francisco, CA
Self employed with studio in San Francisco, currently creating one-of-kind jewelry for commission and exhibition
Guest lecturer at California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
Collaboration with sculptor Clay Jensen of Oakland, California 
Member of Society of North American Goldsmiths
Five months residency at the "Künstlerhaus Edenkoben" in Edenkoben, West-Germany


HONORS AND AWARDS
1986



1988

1992
1998
1999
2001


"Diamonds International Awards", Certificate of Merit
Art Quest '86, Third place winner in Jewelry/Metalwork category Dimensions '86, Lenexa, Kansas, Honorable Mention.
Artists' Liaison, Honorable Mention
Stipend granted by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Rheinland-Pfalz at the "Künstlerhaus Edenkoben", Edenkoben, West-Germany
First place award "American Jewelry Design Council" competition
Niche Award, First Prize
"Best of Show" at ACC Craft Show, San Francisco
"Best of Show" at ACC Craft Show, San Francisco


PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC


EXHIBITIONS
1981
1982

1983

1984




1985




1986









1987

1988


1989
1990

1991

1992

1993




1994





1995



1996
1997




1998




1999

2000

2001

2003




2004



2005
Collection I, Urban School of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Collection II, Urban School of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Pacific States Crafts Fair, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
Fiberworks Fashion Show, Gift Center, San Francisco, CA
Elite Fashion Extravaganza, Trade Show Center, San Francisco, CA
Jewelry USA, American Craft Museum, New York, NY (Catalogue)
Contemporary American Heritage, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco
California Jewelry '84, California Crafts Museum, San Francisco, CA
The Artful Ear, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
The Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, Chicago, IL 
Quadrum Gallery, Chestnut Hill, MA
Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Encore, The Artful Ear, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN
Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL
Bangles and Bracelets, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Dimensions '86, Lenexa National 3-Dimensional Art Show, Lenexa, KS
Art Quest '86, Parsons Gallery, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
California, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
National Ornamental Museum, Memphis, TN
Artists' Liaison, Del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
Pieces From The Heart, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Worked With Gold, Quadrum Gallery, Chestnut Hill, MA
Künstlerhaus Edenkoben, Edenkoben, West-Germany
California, Elaine Potter Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Atelier Bernd Munsteiner, Stipshausen, West-Germany
Reflections, Paul-Luster Gallery, San Francisco, CA
New Art Forms, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Continuing the Tradition of Goldsmithing, Artium Ltd., New York, NY
The Brooch, The Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
New Art Forms, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
More Than One: Contemporary Studio Production, The American Craft Museum, New York, NY (Catalogue)
Jacksonville Art Museum, Jacksonville, FL
Cheeckwood, Tennessee Botanical Gardens & Fine Arts Center, Nashville, TN
California Metal, Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College, Moraga, CA
Nancy Sachs Gallery, Saint Louis, MO
Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, AL
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
California Jewelers, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Jewels and Gems, Collecting California Jewelry, The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
The Art of Goldsmithing, De Novo, Palo Alto, CA
The Gold Show, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
Minimalism Reconsidered, Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Light Interpretations:  A Hanukah Menorah Invitational, The Jewish Museum San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
New Gold II, Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Nancy Sachs Gallery, Saint Louis, MO
Trashformations: Recycled Materials in Contemporary American Art and Design, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA
L'Chaim!: A Kiddush Cup Invitational, The Jewish Museum San Francisco, CA
Festival of Contemporary Light: Congregation Beth Israel, Women of Reform Judaism and Twist, Portland, OR
The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, NH
"Masters of Ceremony: The Next Generation", William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, Atlanta, GA
Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX
Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
Boise Museum of Art, Boise Idaho
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
"Living in the Moment: Contemporary Artists Celebrate Jewish Time", Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, NY and Cincinnati, OH
“Fifty Year in the Making: The Bay Area Metal Arts Guild 1951-2001”, Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, CA
“Beyond the Mines – The Art of Gold”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
”Chess
Contemporary Chessmen by International Makers, Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
Vennel Gallery, Irvine, Scotland
The Gallery, Ruthin Craft Centre, Denbighshire, Wales

Craft Council Shop at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
I/O Gallery, New Orleans, LA
“200 Rings”, Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, CA
Obsidian Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
Gallery M, Cleveland, Ohio

“100 Brooches”, Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, CA
Sam Shaw Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME
East Carolina University School of Art and Design, Greenville, NC
Bellagio, Asheville, NC


PUBLICATIONS
1981

1982

1983

1984

1985


1986

1987
1988




1990
1991
1992









1993

1994




1995





1996

1997








1998



1999







2002

2003



2004

2005
Maker's Marks of Dutch Gold- and Silversmiths, Government
Publishing Office, The Hague, The Netherlands
The Goldsmith, San Francisco
NUVO Magazine, San Francisco
NUVO Magazine, San Francisco
Goldschmiede Zeitung, West-Germany
Jewelry USA, American Craft Museum (Catalogue)
Metalsmith
MD Magazine
Woman's Wear Daily
Ornament
Jewelers' Circular-Keystone
The Goldsmith, San Francisco
Lapidary Journal
Ornament, Spring 1988 Volume 11 #3, pages 22-25
Was ist los!, West-Germany
Nahe-Zeitung, West-Germany
Art Aurea, West-Germany
Jewelers' Circular-Keystone
Jewelers' Circular-Keystone
Ornament
American Jewelry Manufacturer, January 1992, "Seven American Designers" pages 44-45
Jewelers' Circular-Keystone, July 1992, page 240
Modern Jeweler, July 1992, page 34
National Jeweler, Volume 36, #13 July 1, 1992, Cover, page 26 American Jewelry Manufacturer, July 1992, page 24
Jewellery Review, Hong Kong, Vol. 4/1992, page 110  
More Than One, America Craft Museum Catalogue, page 10
New York, November 2, 1992, pages 3A - 8A
Metropolis, November 1992, page 26
Haus der Wörter - Ort der Blicke, Germany
Metalsmith, Summer 1993, Volume 13 - #3, "California Metal", page 42
Metalsmith, Spring 1994 Volume 14 - #2, "17th Annual Philadelphia Craft Show", page 46
The Museum of California, Summer 1994, Volume 18 - #3, "Jewels
and Gems: Collecting California Jewelry", pages 20 - 24
San Francisco Examiner Magazine, August 14, page 27
Metalsmith, Winter 1995, Volume 15 - #1, "The Museum, Metals, and Collecting for the Future", pages 16 - 23
Metalsmith, Summer 1995, Volume 15 - #3, "The Art of Goldsmithing", page 46
Light Interpretations:  A Hanukah Menorah Invitational, The Jewish Museum San Francisco Catalogue, page 23
Metal Arts Source Book by Bob Mitchell, CD-ROM
Jewelers' Circular-Keystone, March 1996 Part II, Page 76
Jewish Bulletin of Northern California
American Craft, February/March 1997, Abrasha, "The past is ever present, it is my prison", pages 62 - 65.
"The art of jewelry design", Deborah Krupenia, Quarry Books, Rockport, Massachusetts, pages 28 - 33.
San Francisco Examiner Magazine, May 18, 1997, "Less is More",
page 73.
Metalsmith,  1997 "Exhibition in print", Volume 17 Number 3, page 45. 
San Francisco Examiner Magazine, November 1997.
Wine Spectator, December 31, 1997, "Toast to Life", pages 165 - 169.
Amit, Winter 1998, Vol LXX No 1, "L'Chaim - To life!" A Kiddush Cup Invitational, pages 17-18.
"Skilled Work, American Craft in the Renwick Gallery", Kenneth Trapp and Howard Rosetti, Smithsonian Institution Press, pages 50-51 and 130-131
The B'nai B'rith International Jewish Monthly, March/April issue, "In art, timeless is contemporary" by Michael Lasser, pages 46 - 51
American Jewelry Manufacturer, April issue, "Fashion Forays", page 41
American Jewelry Manufacturer, July issue, "The CAD/CAM Question", pages 28 - 34
"The Metalsmith's Book of Boxes & Lockets", Tim McCreight, Page 33
"The Art of Jewelry Making: Classic and original Designs", Alan Revere, pages 21 – 24

"Judaic Artisans Today" by Kathryn Morton, Published by Flower Valley Press.
Metalsmith, Fall 2002, Volume 22 - #5, “Studio Visit – Abrasha”, pages 18 – 19

Metalsmith, Summer 2003, Volume 23 - #3, "The Art of "The Art of Gold", pages 39 - 45
“Minimal Rings”, Arch Gregory, pages 64, 74 and 105
“Making Metal Jewelry”, Joanna Gollberg, pages 97, 102 and 104
“1000 Rings”, Marthe Le Van, page 221
“Creative Metal Crafts”, Joanna Gollberg, page 106
“Fabulous Jewelry from Found Objects”, Marthe Le Van, pages 18, 30 and 141
“500 Brooches”, Marthe Le Van, pages 24, 300 and 340
Art Jewelry Magazine, July issue, “Abrasha, Profile of a Technosmith”, pages 76 -79


VIDEO
1991 Abrasha - Pin #23




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