For years, Joe Wood’s art fashion jewelry has hovered between sculpture and ornament, as he has explored synthetic ornament’s role as a visual communicator. To do this, he has focused on creating structures that embody basic physical principles and thus exude an energy or force. In developing his most recent work, Wood, head of the Metals Department at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, assigned himself the task of using cutting-edge technology to further develop these themes. He designed the pieces using a computerized modeling program, then “printed out” the digital files on a rapid prototyping machine as three-dimensional objects in cellulose. Because the cellulose is infused with a low viscosity plastic, it is very durable. Wood applied epoxy resin, enamel powder, wax, and flocking to the cellulose material to create various kinds of surface qualities. The results are vibrantly colored, organic-looking forms that appear to move and expand.
The brooches and bracelets in this collection are ripe, pillowy structures heightened by irresistible color and texture. The Splatto brooches, for example, are like mini explosions in vivid red, blue, and green; each brooch seems to capture the moment of mid-burst. The Plash brooches in red and yellow bring to mind a water droplet splash caught in a time-lapse photo. Wood’s bracelets embody a similar dynamic; their bright exteriors appear elastic, barely able to contain the spheres, bumps, and finger-like projections that extend out from the center. In the Knobby bracelets, one senses that the knobs are not only pushing out from the center but also stretching away from each other. Wood does not ignore the wearability of his fashion jewellery; his bracelets are large and dramatic, but very comfortable on the wrist. The two necklaces in the collection feature cellulose elements delicately framed in stainless steel. In the Roto necklace, the cellulose beads are left in their natural state, an eerie pale, as if they could glow in the dark, while in his XY necklace, the cellulose is flocked a fuzzy purple.
Wood abandons the cellulose in his series of five rings wrought in sterling silver and gold, but these pieces differ only in material, not inspiration or method. His designs on digital file were printed out in meltable plastic instead of cellulose, then cast. The rings also convey growth and expansion. On one, oxidized silver projectiles rise from the ring shanks like tassels on a jester’s hat; another resembles plant tendrils that look as though they’re searching for more territory.
Wood’s high-tech pieces reflect a back-to-basics approach that he admits may be a reaction to some of his earlier work–specifically the evocative white burnt oil series, which he describes as chalky and desiccated looking. What stands out in this collection is Wood’s emphasis on color and organic form. These current pieces are not merely references to ornament. They are ornament of the most exuberant kind.