Rydmark featured at Telluride Gallery of Fine Art

On December 29, the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art opens a show of new work by jeweler Cheryl Rydmark. The jeweler is renowned locally for her now famous asymmetrical arrangement of sterling silver beads, gold, leaf-like charms, and small diamonds, worn by a trend-setting group of Telluride ladies like a sorority necklace.

A classically-trained-painter-turned-metal-artist, Rydmark’s creation are as elegant and harmonious as Einstein’s theory of relativity, the architecture of Renzo Piano, Brancusi’s sculpture, Rothko’s paintings, and ancient Etruscan jewelry, works that convey the idea that, in the hands of a master, complex concepts can be successfully conveyed very simply. After 35 years on the job, Rydmark is a true master, often described as a “jeweler’s jeweler” for her uncompromising quality and sensitive handling of the materials.

Just like the jewelry of ancient Rome, Rydmark’s work takes its form from nature: seaweed, raindrops, sea pods, sand, shells, leaves, spider webs, and constellations. “Baron Munchausen,” one of Rydmark’s favorite movies, is another influence: whimsy and myth pervades her work, which is the opposite of heavy, self-important and glitzy. The idea the artist can limit her materials and design, take advantage of what is there by making use of what is not, comes from a study of Taoism.

Currently celebrating 35 years as a metalsmith, Rydmark maintains a studio on the Mendocino coast, where she practices her craft in between bouts of gardening, teaching, and hiking the logging trails with her dog Lola.