You Got the Look is a national exhibition of contemporary art jewelers and metalsmiths that explores social and political approaches to contemporary society

CoCA (Center on Contemporary Art) presents You Got the Look, a national exhibition of contemporary art jewelry and accessories, from Nov. 23 through Dec. 22. In addition to accepting 26 artists from across the US, the show will feature three widely regarded US artist jewelers including Nancy Worden, Andy Cooperman, and Emiko Oye. CoCA is located at 114 3rd Ave S. in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood.

The exhibit derives its name from a 1987 song by Prince bearing the same title and blends jewelry and art, while raising questions about jewelry's social and political meaning in contemporary society. In addition to the typical call of beauty, the exhibit explores vulnerability and cleverly transforms emojis, parking lot detritus, brightly-colored toys, and a few medical devices into fun adornments to accentuate and transform the body.

From 55 submissions from all across the US, the panel of jurors selected Emily Blodgett-Panos (Laurence, KS), Melanie Brauner (Everett, WA), Jana Brevick (Seattle, WA), Ann Chikahisa (Seattle, WA), Rebecca Cummins (Seattle, WA), Alexis Devine (Tacoma, WA), Marita Dingus (Seattle, WA), Denise Emerson (Burien, WA), Molly Epstein (Seattle, WA), Ray C. Freeman III (Seattle, WA), Motoko Furuhashi (Las Cruces, NM), Catherine Grisez (Seattle, WA), Frances Pookie Halpern (Philadelphia, PA), Sarah Hood (Seattle, WA), Holland Houdek (Rochester, NY), Han-Yin Hsu (Tacoma, WA), Katie Kameen (Graniteville, SC), Micki Lippe (Seattle, WA), Kim Merritt (Seattle, WA), Eileen O'Shea (Mercer Island, WA), Polly Purvis (Seattle, WA), Nina Raizel Hartman (Seattle, WA), Anne Randall (Sammamish, WA), Emma Rose (Vancouver, WA), Sylwia Tur (Seattle, WA), and Megan Wachs (Ossining, NY).

Featured Seattle-based artist Nancy Worden is inspired by the events she experiences as an American woman. Her piece, Literal Defense, is included in the show and 'was made for those who are soldiers in the battlefield of arts education. On the neck piece, quotes from arts advocates are stamped into the front and sides. The back contains a passage from Ovid about the Muses, who were the patrons of the arts in Roman mythology.'

Metalsmith, educator, and writer from Seattle Andy Cooperman will present Poison, alluding to poison rings that have appeared throughout history. 'I had Poison in mind ever since I found a rattle at a Western boot store giveaway. The idea of a ring as a cautionary object, along with being a signifier of status and affiliation, appealed to me.'

San Francisco designer Emiko Oye creates bold and colorful jewelry from precious metals and repurposed LEGO®. Utilizing such a globally beloved material, she tugs on the nostalgic heartstrings across generations, cultures, and genders, artfully embedding memory into conversation-sparking, contemporary adornment.



This show is made possible by the support of Elysian Brewing with special thanks to Karen Lorene for consultation and the gift of 'Signs of Life' magazines, which will be available for VIP attendees at the Nov. 23 opening reception.

The private VIP event is Friday, Nov. 23, 4pm-6pm. To RSVP, please visit the event page at https://cocaseattle.org/exhibitions/vip-you-got-the-look. The public opening is Friday, Nov. 23, 6pm-8pm. Artist reception (open to the public) is Thursday, December 6 from 5pm-9pm as a part of the First Thursday Pioneer Square Art Walk.

CoCA serves the Pacific Northwest as a catalyst and forum for the advancement, development, and understanding of contemporary art. CoCA Gallery at TK is located at 114 3rd Ave S. Hours are Thurs-Sat 10am-5pm, except First Thursday open until 9pm for Pioneer Square Art Walk. For more information, phone (206) 728-1980 or visit https://cocaseattle.org.

Courtesy of CoCA

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