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THE DIAMOND AGE N E T- W O R K I N G ABOUT BIOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS
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S i z e d o e s m a t t e r. M o d e r n s o c i e t y i s i n f l i c t e d w i t h a n i n s a t i a b l e h u n g e r f o r bigger, better and more material objects. This neophilia drives people to constantly upgrade or upsize everything from cellphones to clothes to cars. The symbolic embodiment of our obsession with excess is the diamond. Like displaying tribal markings, people wear a dazzling amount of diamond jewellery to fit in with the crowd. The artwork investigates the symbolism of this coveted stone and its relative value in different contexts. The installation consists of two rings suspended in water. One ring is a diamond solitaire, hanging upside-down with the gem below the surface. The other ring’s diamond shape, made using an ancient Persian technique of silver filigree, sits above the water line. According to Archimedes’ principle of fluid mechanics, the buoyant force on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. In simple terms, the weight of an object in water is less than the weight of the same object in air. Similarly, the emotional and symbolic value placed on an object changes depending on the social and cultural circumstances.
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“At any rate, let us love for a while, for a year o r s o , y o u a n d m e . T h a t ’s a f o r m o f d i v i n e d r u n k e n n e s s t h a t w e c a n a l l t r y. T h e r e a r e only diamonds in the whole world, diamonds and perhaps the shabby gift of disillusion.”
From “The Diamond As Big As The Ritz” b y F. S c o t t F i t z g e r a l d 9
N E T- W O R K I N G
The Net-working series are a group of wearable structures, created through improvisation and spontaneity, which reveals unplanned moments in Sheikhvand’s practice within his intentional use of unconventional material. The pieces are employing meshes and wire frames to create forms and movements. Following his old habits, this series of work are another attempt to redefine viewers associations to ornament, adornment and beauty. The objects are named after those new words and terms used in social networking sites to depict our behavior in the virtual world of socializing, words and phrases that we never used in our social interactions before, a metaphorical representation of our cyber behavior.
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S o c i a l N e t - Wo r k i n g
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Net-working series
20 X 25 X 10 CM
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2011
S i l v e r, S t e e l Rubber Coating, Paint Fresh water Pearl 1 1
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Like us
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Net-working series
20 X 30 X 10 CM
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2011
S i l v e r, 2 4 k g o l d p l a t e d , S t e e l , Rubber Coating, Paint 1 4
Unfriend
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Net-working series
20 X 20 X 10 CM
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2011
S i l v e r, 2 4 k g o l d p l a t e d , S t e e l Rubber Coating, Paint 1 5
Vo i d
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Net-working series
20 X 25 X 3 CM
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2011
1 8 k g o l d , S i l v e r, S t e e l , R u b b e r C o a t i n g , P a i n t 1 6
Join Us
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Net-working series
20 X 35 X 10 CM
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2011
S i l v e r, S t e e l , C u b i c Z i r c o n i a Rubber Coating, Paint
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Hashtag
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Net-working series
16 X 5 X 2.5 CM
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2012
Steel, Rubber Coating, Paint
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Dislike
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Net-working series
20 X 25 X 10 CM
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2012
1 8 k G o l d , S i l v e r, S t e e l , R e s i n Rubber Coating, Paint
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Also LikeI Net-working 10 X 15 X 2 CM
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series
2012
Silver, Steel, Rubber Coating Paint, Gold plated
A n t i s o c i a l N e t - Wo r k i g 10 X 15 X 2 CM
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I Net-working
2012
Silver, Steel, Rubber Coating, Paint
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series
Untitled
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Net-working series
10 X 15 X 1 CM
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2012
Silver,Enamel,Steel, Rubber Coating, Paint,Steel mesh, Acrylic sheet, Mylar
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A b o u t
Sheikhvand’s work incorporates both his social values and the perceptions of his surroundings. His works allude to the elements of the narrative, rather than telling the whole story allowing the spectators to fill in the details with their individual creativity and imagination. In addition to his academic studies, Sheikhvand acquired a self-taught education through observation, experience and a thirst for knowledge. His desire to learn drives him to always challenge and extend himself within the creative fields in which he works. His learning is a part of his artistic sensibility, as is the combining of media that he applies to his projects, in which he fearlessly incorporates sound, music, jewellery, video and photography. His use of materials and media has no limitations and they find a place in his works in many different forms. It is his interdisciplinary approach , his eclectic use of media and techniques within his conceptual art work that make him notable in his field. Sheikhvand honours the materials by letting them speak, and he manipulates them in ways that make it difficult to recognize their original source. It is an important aspect of his art that he knows each material’s potential to contain and transport the meaning. His use of graphic renderings of Persian calligraphy and typography allow him to explore the boundaries of jewellery art and Persian poetry. He breaks up and connects these boundaies by incorporating a portion of a text or a poem and presents the characters of the alphabet as if they were the abstract composition of the painter. Geometric, often cubic forms, and grid systems mixed with organic shapes, solid colours and repetition are key features in his work. By expressing his ideas through industrial and non-conventional materials, Sheikhvand demonstrates his willingness to redefine the notion of beauty, worth and adornment. Sheikhvand creates one-off pieces for personal projects, most of his works loaded with social afairs, paradoxes, tradition and modernity they challenge the wearer to be their display case, he is inspired by contemporary fine artists like Marizio Catelan, Frank Stella, Charles Biederman also admires works of contemporart jewellers such as Christope Zelweger and Ted Noten.
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B i o g r a p h y
Born in Tehran, Amir Sheikhvand currently lives and works in Toronto. After completing his academic education in biology and graphic design, he went on to study jewellery and graduated from Tehran’s Gold Institute in 1994. He completed several apprenticeships with some of Iran’s masters in the field of malilekary-filigree work - and minakary-miniature enamelling. He is a pioneer in the field of teaching women the art of jewellery making in Iran. Sheikhvand resumed his practice in Canada in 1999 after several solo exhibits in Iranian galleries. Sheikhvand has executed numerous outstanding pieces of fine jewellery for one of the most prestigious design studios in Toronto. As an advisor he provides help to emerging craft artists at Harbourfront Centre and is an active mentor for students at George Brown College. He is a member of Society of North American Goldsmiths, Metal Arts Guild of Canada and Ontario Crafts Council board of directors. Sheikhvand received numerous awards for his practice in Contemporary Art Jewellery and his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in both juried and invitational exhibitions at museums and galleries such as Design Exchange, Valery Art Gallery, McMaster Museum of Art, Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Ontario Crafts Council gallery, Arta gallery, Tehran Contemporary Museum of Art and Harbourfront Centre.
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Exhibitions -2013, Design san frontier, Juried exhibition, Design exchange, Toronto, ON. -2013, Wearable Structures, solo exhibition, Atalier rzlbd, Toronto, ON. -2011, Craft “11, juried exhibition, O.C.C Gallery, Toronto, ON. -2009, Craft “09, juried exhibition, O.C.C Gallery, Toronto ON. -2008, Nostalgia, Solo Exhibition, V-Mac Gallery, 401 Richmond Toronto. -2005, Movements, Solo Exhibition, Arta Gallery, Toronto distillery district -2004, Form & Concept, Solo Exhibition, Arta Gallery, Toronto distillery district -2003, Craft in the making, Toronto, O.C.C, Feb -April 2003 -2002, Shift”connection”, Harbor Front Center, Toronto, ON July - sep. -2001, Looking Forward, juried exhibition, 2001,Vallry Art Gallery,McMaster museum of art, Tom Thomson Art Gallery, -2000, iranian Craft revisited, Expo 2000 in Hannover Germany -1999, The Last Footprint In the 20th Century, solo exhibition -1999, Wearable Sculptures, Solo exhibition, Aug. 1999, Barg Art Gallery, Tehran -1999, Stones, by A.Sheikhvand & A. Kaveh, Bamdad Art Gallery, Tehran -1999, Tehran Precious Stone Expo, Tehran, Niavaran Art & Culture Center, Tehran -1998, Ethnic Jewellery, Solo exhibition, Bamdad Art Gallery, Tehran -1998, Contemporary Jewellery, Solo Exhibition, Bamdad Art Gallery, Tehran, Mar. 1998
Curatorial:
-2005, Rebirth, Harbor Front Center, Toronto, ON. -2014, Objectified Matter, Atelier Ascensuer, Toronto, ON.
Publications:
Tehran Times, October 1998 Looking Forward, OCC, 2000 Canadian Craft Magazine, 2000 Craft ’09 catalogue, 2009 Craft ’11 catalogue, 2011 Superstition, Zilberschmuck , 2012 Magzine, 2013
Teaching:
Persian filigree workshop, SNAG preconference workshop, George Brown College, Toronto, ON, 2013
Research Papers:
Persian filigree and contemporary jewellery, 2012 Minakari and contemporary jewellery, 2013 Design elements in persian Minakari and Craft, 2013
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