Susie Ganch

Tied
April 4 – June 7, 2014

This comprehensive exhibition tied together the multifaceted career and work of Susie Ganch, associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and director of Radical Jewelry Makeover. An accomplished jeweler and sculptor, Ganch has staked a unique career with trifold contributions to the field of craft.

As a university educator, Ganch trains the next generation of jewelers and metalsmiths; as a practicing artist, she pushes the boundaries of jewelry and sculpture through her innovative approach to material, design and function; as a director of the Radical Jewelry Makeover project, she creates community events that encourage our consideration of the social and environmental impacts of mining and jewelry production through the creation of innovative jewelry made from recycled sources.

Susie Ganch: TIED included two galleries of Ganch’s independent work and one gallery devoted to her collaborative project, Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM). This RJM installation included work by 22 well-known jewelers from across the United States who participated in previous RJM events as well as jewelry made by regional RJM artists and local VCU students.

As an outreach program of the nonprofit Ethical Metalsmiths, RJM is an innovative community-mining project that raises awareness of the connection between mining, metalsmithing, activism, collaboration and art. The project is both performance and event, linking recycling, reuse and collaborative work sessions with the creation of unique, innovative, handmade jewelry.