2021 Catalogue Archive

“I once got pulled by airport security for having a rusted scraper blade in my wallet, something I had picked up from the street because it had a beautiful aged texture and patina,” recounts artist Adriana Radulescu. She draws much inspiration from found objects, calling them “the serendipitous gifts of nature.” As her necklace Dwellings 1 shows, Radulescu often crafts her jewelry pieces to look like found objects weathered by time.  Each triangular link in this piece is thoughtfully decorated with alluring areas of rust-like patina. The artist has noted that in her work she seeks to “convey that beauty and value are measures of emotion rather than conventionally established concepts.” Originally trained as an architect, she earned a master’s degree from Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism in her native Bucharest, Romania. After taking a jewelry class at the Concoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C., she trained as a jeweler for five years there. Radulescu has showcased her work in various group exhibitions with an upcoming solo exhibition on her Dwellings series at Jewelers’werk Galerie. A contributing writer to craft publications such as the Art Jewelry Forum, currently she runs her jewelry studio and architectural practice in Washington, D.C.