Kristal Romano is a New Jersey based artist, jeweler and a metalsmith. With a degree in MFA from Montclair University, Romano is not only a self-serving artist but a part time professor as well. Currently, she instructs students at Montclair State University in Metalwork/Jewelry and Sculpture besides being a metals instructor at Newark Museum.
With a vast experience in the jewelry business, she has in the past worked as a freelance artist with Pico Design, as a gallery assistant in Montclair as well as is the hand behind many beautiful designs at Ten Thousand Things in New York City.
In her own words she describes her interest as drawing a bridge between "cultural notions of value and the use of commodities". For most of us jewelry is either a long term investment or simply a
embellishment of the body. But her craft is aimed at re-thinking the real "function of money".
Her works not only reveal her eye for detail but a astute awareness of the times we live in.
Creating small-scale wearable accessories, made out of precious metals, Kristen is "Captivated by the interplay of adornment, scale, and non-traditional materials, the found objects I use are typically more commonplace, but circulate through contemporary culture as signifiers for commodities and wealth accumulation".
A touch of humor is what, at the end of the day makes her artworks sparkle even brighter. By moulding her art around commodities of day-to-day use, that have been discarded or depreciate in value, she indirectly laments the larger realities like an economic downturn, depreciation in gold market or say the banking sector crisis.
Art combined with purpose is any day more appealing to the audiences who can relate to such themes. Her "Commodities" series is our pick of the day. Happy viewing.
To know more about Kristen and her works, you can visit her website by clicking the link.
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