Résumé
Bio
Helen Shirk grew up in Buffalo, New York and went to undergraduate school at Skidmore College, where she took her first jewelry course with Earl Pardon. Following graduation from Skidmore in 1963 she went to Denmark to study on a Fulbright Grant. In 1967 she returned to the States to do her MFA in jewelry and metalsmithing with Alma Eikerman at Indiana University in Bloomington. She taught at Indiana University from 1971-73 and after that at the Des Moines Art Center from 1973-75. In 1975 she accepted a position at San Diego State University where she is currently Professor of Art Emerita.
She has been the recipient of National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in 1978 and 1988 and was made a Fellow of the American Crafts Council in 1999. Her work has been exhibited in the U.S. and abroad and included in many public collections, among them the Schmuckmuseum (Pforzheim), National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Mint Museum of Craft and Design, American Craft Museum, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, Carnegie Museum, and Oakland Museum.
Education
| 1963 |
BS, Skidmore College, Saratoga, NY |
| 1964 |
Kunsthaandvaerkerskoten, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1969 |
MFA, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN |
Present Position
| 1975 - present |
Professor of Art Emerita, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA |
Grants and Honors
| 1963 |
Fulbright Grant to Denmark |
| 1978, 1988 |
National Endowment for the Arts Craftsman's
Fellowship |
| 1999 |
Fellow of the American Craft Council |
Public Collections
| Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England |
| Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany |
| National Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan |
| National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia |
| Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, NY |
| Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA |
| Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC |
| Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY |
| Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA |
| Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, CA |
| Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
DC |
| Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA |
| Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI |
| Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA |
| Minnesota Museum of Art St Paul, MN |
| Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN |
| University of Texas, El Paso, TX |
| Marietta College, Marietta, OH |
| Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Helen Williams Drutt Collection, Houston, TX |
Selected Exhibitions
| 2009 |
Read My Pins: the Madeleine Albright Collection, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY |
| |
Remake/Remodel, Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN |
| |
Talking Hands: Spectrum of Contemporary Metal Works, Museum of Art, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea |
| 2008 |
Form and Function: American Modernist Jewelry, 1940-1970, Fort Wayne Museum of Art , IN |
| |
New West Coast Design, Velvet da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2007 |
Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX |
| |
Field of Vision , SoFA Gallery , Indiana University, Bloomington, IN |
| |
The Art of Conceptual Craft: Selections from the Wornick Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA |
| |
Jewelry by Artists: the Daphne Fargo Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA |
| |
Craft In America, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX |
| 2006 |
Challenging the Chatelaine, Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland |
| |
Basket (R) evolution, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA |
| |
Symbols of Identity: Jewelry from Five Continents, Miingei International Museum, San Diego CA |
| |
Material and Space, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN |
| 2005 |
Transformations: the Language of Craft, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia |
| 2004 |
A View From America: Contemporary Jewelry, Gold Treasury Museum, Melbourne, Australia |
| |
Historical Connections, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA |
| |
Crafts, Etc.: American Master Jewelers and Metalsmiths, Buddy Holly Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX |
| |
NCAD Master and Student, National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland |
| 2003 |
Solo Exhibition, Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte,
NC |
| |
Beyond the Mines: The California Art of Gold, Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, CA |
| |
Extreme Metal, Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Tallahassee, FL |
| |
Artists and the Cultivated Landscape, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI |
| 2002 |
Steel City: Contemporary America in Metal, Sangre de Crista Art Center, Puebla, CO |
| |
Escape from the Vault, The Contemporary
Museum, Honolulu, HI |
| 2001 |
Challenge VI -Roots: Insights and Inspirations to Contemporary Turned Obiects. Susquehanna Art Museum, Indianapolis Art Museum, Indianapolis, IN |
| |
Cheongiu International Craft Biennale, Cheongju-city, Korea |
| 2000 |
Twenty Objects from the Late Twentieth Century,
Jerald Melberg Gallery. Charlotte, NC |
| |
Who Knows Where or When, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI |
| |
20th Century at the Turn of the Millenium, Helen Drutt: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA |
| |
Twenty Objects from the Late 20th Century, Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC |
| 1999 |
World Competition of Arts and Crafts, Kanazawa, Japan |
| |
Seoul Internatianal Metal Artists Invitational. Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea |
| 1998 |
Brooching it Diplomatically: A Tribute to
Madelaine Albright, Museum Het Kruithuis, 's-Hertogenbosch, The
Netherlands, and the Museum of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland |
| |
Benchmarkers: Women in Metal, National
Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN |
| 1997 |
American Masters of Late 20th Century Holloware,
Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA |
| |
Celebrating American Craft 1975-1995, Danish
Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 1995 |
Helen Shirk: Contemporary Jewelry 1970-1995,
Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA |
| 1994 |
American Craftsman Series: Vessels, Castle
Gallery, New Rochelle, NY |
| 1993 |
Corpus: Norwegian and International Craft Art,
Vestlandske Kunstindustri Museum, Bergen, Norway |
| |
Sculptural Concerns: Contemporary American
Metalsmithing, Cincinnati Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH |
| 1992 |
New Acquisitions. American Craft Museum, New York, NY |
| 1991 |
Design Visions, Art Gallery of Western
Australia, Perth, Western Australia |
| 1989 |
Helen Shirk: Vessels, Kurtz-Bingham Gallery,
Memphis, TN |
| |
Helen Shirk: Twenty Years, National Ornamental
Metals Museum, Memphis, TN |
| 1988 |
Craft Today USA, Musee Des Arts Decoratifs,
Paris, France |
| |
By Hammer and Hand: Four Contemporary Silversmiths,
Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, CA |
| |
Oxford Gallery `68-'88, Oxford Gallery,
Oxford, England |
| 1986 |
Masters of American Metalsmithing,
National Ornamental Metals Museum, Memphis, TN |
| 1984 |
Poetry of the Physical, American Craft Museum,
New York, NY |
| 1984 |
Contemporary Jewelry: The Americas, Australia,
Europe and Japan, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan |
| 1984 |
Modem Jewelry: 1966-84, Montreal Museum of
Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada |
| 1983 |
International Schmuckshau, Munich,
Germany |
| 1982 |
Tendenzen '82, Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim,
Germany |
| 1981 |
Good as Gold: Alternative Materials in American
Jewelry, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC |
| |
Helen Shirk: Linear Sketches, Janus Gallery,
Los Angeles, CA |
| 1980 |
Armschmuck, Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim,
Germany |
| 1978 |
Modern American Jewelry, Mikimoto & Company,
Tokyo, Japan |
| 1975 |
Forms In Metal: 275 Years of Metalsmithing In
America, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY |
| |
The Goldsmith, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC 1975 |
| 1970 |
Goldsmith 70, Saint Paul Art Center, St. Paul,
MN |
| 1967 |
American Jewelry Today, Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA. |
| 1962 |
Young Americans '62, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY |
Selected Bibliography
| 2009 |
Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat’s Jewel Box, Madeleine Albright, Harper Collins |
| 2008 |
Form and Function: American Modernist Jewelry, 1940-1970, Marbeth Schon, Schiffer |
| 2007 |
Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection, Arnoldsche , Stuttgart, Germany |
| |
500 Metal Vessels: Contemporary Explorations of Containment, curated by Fred Fenster, Lark Books |
| 2006 |
Challenging the Chatelaine, Marianne Aav and Helen Drutt English, DESIGNMUSEO. Helsinki, Finland |
| |
Contemporary Enameling: Art & Techniques, Lilyan Bachrach, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Jan 2006 |
| |
500 Baskets, curated by Jan Peters, Lark Books, Asheville, NC |
| |
500 Necklaces, curated by Marjorie Schick, Lark Books, Asheville, NC |
| 2005 |
Transformations: the Language of Craft, published by National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia |
| |
Transformations, artist interview video http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/Transformations/Default.cfm |
| 2005 |
Silver Magazine, May/June 2005, p 44. |
| |
Penland Book of Jewelry, Lark Books, Asheville, NC |
| 2004 |
1000 Rings, curated by Robert Ebendorf, Lark Books, Asheville, NC |
| 2001 |
Color on Metal, Tim Mc Creight, Guild
Publishers |
| |
Challenge VI – Roots: Insights and Inspirations in Contemporary Turned Objects, Wood Turning Center |
| 2000 |
Women Designers in the USA 1900-2000, Pat
Kirkham, Bard Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New York, NY |
| |
Contemporary Silver, Seymour Rabinovitch
and Helen Clifford, Merrell |
| 1999 |
Modern Jewelry 1955 - 1995, Fritz Falk,
Amoldsche |
| 1998 |
Dictionnaire International du Bijou,
Edition du Regarde, Paris, France |
| |
Brooching It Diplomatically; A Tribute to Madelaine Albright, Helen Drutt |
| 1997 |
Curators Focus: Turning in Context, Wood
Turning Center |
| 1996 |
Nouvel Objet, Design House, Seoul,
Korea |
| 1995 |
Jewelry of Our Time, Helen Drutt English
/Peter Dormer, Thames and Hudson |
| 1994 |
One of a Kind: American Art Jewelry Today,
Susan Lewin, Harry Abrams |
| 1992 |
Silbergestaltung: zeitaenossische Formen und Tendenzen. Weber, Klinkhardt & Biermann |
| |
Design Visions, edited by Robert Bell, Art
Gallery of Western Australia |
| 1991 |
International Crafts, edited by Martina Margetts, Thames and
Hudson |
| 1990 |
Product Design 4, edited by Joel Sokolov, PBC
International |
| |
80's Style: Designs of the Decade,
Albrecht Bangert and Karl Armor, Abbeville Press |
| 1988 |
International Design Yearbook 4, Arata Isozaki,
Abbeville Press |
| 1988 |
Contemporary American Craft Art: A Collectors
Guide, Barbara Mayer, Peregrine Smith Books |
| 1986 |
Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical, American
Craft Museum, New York, NY |
| 1985 |
The New Jewelry; Trends and Traditions, Peter
Dormer and Ralph Turner, Thames and Hudson |
| 1983 |
American Crafts: A Source Book for the Home, Stewart, Tabori, and Chang |
| 1982 |
Jewelry Concepts and Technology, Oppi Untracht,
Doubleday, NY |
| 1976 |
California Design '76. California Design Publications |
| Various |
American Craft. Apr 1980, Jun 1981, Oct 1986, Aug 1988, Jun 1989, Oct 1990, Feb 1995, Jul 1995, Oct 1999 |
| Various |
American Style, Fall 1998, p. 48, October 2006 (cover) |
| Various |
Metalsmith. Fall 1980, Fall 1981, Summer 1984, Winter 1985, Summer 1987, Fall 1987, Fall 1990, Summer 1996, Fall 2006 |
| Various |
Metalsmith Exhibition in Print, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2009 |
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