Gina Pankowski

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VERTEBRAE #1
Fabricated sterling silver
length 32"

G I N A P A N K O W S K I

by Patrick Kapty

Gina Pankowski's jewelry has been compared to everything from models of molecular building blocks, to the joints and joinery of the human body, to the forms and framework of plant life. As she stated in an interview with Ornament magazine (April 23, 2000), "I don't want to tell stories about myself. I'm really trying to make beautiful objects and I enjoy it if someone looks at my work and it reminds them of more than one thing. I don't want to explain what things are or to have my work contain specific meaning." However, Gina has found inspiration for her forms, and the unique way that she fits them together, from all of the above sources, among others.

LATTIS #15 Cast and fabricated sterling silver diameter 4 1/2"	One of the signatures of Gina's work is the element of movement with which almost every piece is endowed. From sinuously twining bracelets and necklaces in repeating organic patterns, to large-scale and impressive pendants on neckrings with uniquely connecting joints, to rings that move back and forth on the finger and contain trapped elements in interesting art glass, almost all of her efforts move about and rustle with the movement of the wearer.
VERTEBRAE Cast and fabricated 18k green gold Tahitian pearls in natural pistachio color, length 2"	VERTEBRAE 18k green gold and amythyst length 1 1/4"
Gina's choice of jewelry-making materials centers on sterling silver, but she also works in various karats and colors of gold. For accents she uses colored gemstones including garnets and pearls, and art glass elements such as cat's eye glass in unusual and un-natural shadings.

Gina's career in contemporary jewelry was decided when she wandered into the metal arts studio at the University of Washington, and the classroom of Mary Lee Hu. Hu has been, and still is, a major influence in contemporary art jewelry, and was the ideal instructor for Gina given their mutual interest in structure and pattern. Since graduating in 1993, Gina has gone on to show her jewelry in galleries around the country and the world, and her work has been included in major exhibitions at prestigious institutions including the American Craft Museum in New York, and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, and the Samuel Dorsky Museum in New Paltz, New York.

VERTEBRAE #5
Fabricated sterling silver
length 30"

UNTITLED
Sterling silver
22k gold, patina
length 1 1/4"

LATTIS #12
Fabricated sterling silver
patina
diameter 4 1/4"

MONARCH 22k, 18k, 14k gold sterling silver, pearls length 34"	Gina Pankowski's new work is currently showing at Sculpture to Wear in Santa Monica, California, visit the website at www.sculpturetowear.com for dates and location.
Visit Gina Pankowski's website at http://lattisdesign.com Back to the top

Photographs by Douglas Yaple, courtesy of Gina Pankowski
web design by Marbeth Schon
www.mschon.com