2021 Catalogue Archive

Necklace 9 from Rebekah Frank’s Just Add Flesh series highlights the artist’s fascination with the myriad ways a piece of jewelry can occupy space and interact with the human body. With these three curved pieces of steel wire and long steel chain, Frank has created endless possibilities for the wearer to drape the necklace around their neck. People commonly think of steel as being rigid, perhaps even harsh. Frank, however, uses steel—her preferred material—to create flexible, minimalist forms that serve as ever shifting boundaries. She explains that “softness enters the pieces as they drape and conform to the environment they interact with, the gentle pull of gravity, the planar surface of a table, the curves of the body.” Necklace 9 can stand on its own in countless arrangements, but it can also entwine around a wearer in various ways while maintaining its original identity. Frank has had her work featured in many international solo and group exhibitions, and she has given lectures and workshops all over the world. As an award-winning maker, Frank also has works in permanent collections including the CODA Museum in the Netherlands, the Cranbrook Art Museum, and various international private collections. She holds a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from Texas State University and an MFA in the same from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Based in San Francisco, Frank is also a prolific writer, contributing to major contemporary jewelry publications. She is particularly passionate about highlighting queer artists like herself in these writings.