Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta

Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta was the first major retrospective of this seminal figure in the American studio jewelry movement. The exhibition, which debuted at the Oakland Museum of California, was a comprehensive overview of her oeuvre, offering new scholarship on how this American Modernist influenced studio jewelry as both a maker and a social activist. Space-Light-Structure featured 50 jewelry pieces as well as ceramics, flatware, photographs, photograms, and newly released archival material. In addition, the exhibition displayed constructivist works by renowned European modernists such as László Moholy-Nagy, György Kepes, and El Lissitzky, whose work shaped De Patta’s aesthetic sensibilities and vision.

Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta was organized by the Museum of Arts and Design and the Oakland Museum of California and was curated by Ursula Ilse-Neuman, MAD’s Curator of Jewelry, and Julie Muñiz, OMCA’s Associate Curator of Design & Decorative Arts. The exhibition was supported by a cadre of enthusiastic, generous, and committed funding partners. Chief among these was the Terra Foundation for American Art, which, through its support of Space-Light-Structure—its first involvement with the field of modern jewelry—has demonstrated its commitment to furthering cross-cultural dialogue on American art and to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for national and international audiences. Other funding partners included the National Endowment for the Arts, the Center for Craft, and Creativity & Design at the University of North Carolina.

Space-Light-Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta was accompanied by a 248-page catalog, which includes a foreword by Holly Hotchner and essays by Ursula Ilse-Neuman, Julie Muñiz, and Glenn Adamson. It was co-published by MAD and OMCA with support from the Rotasa Foundation.