Susan Grant Lewin ring collection on view at SCAD Museum of Art

By Chadd ScottAugust 24, 2021August 26, 20210 Comments

SCAD Savannah – Fall 2021 – Exhibitions – Susan Grant Lewin Collection – Rings – Documentation – "Riff on Rings" – Keys Hall – Photography Courtesy of SCAD

The SCAD Museum of Art presents its latest exhibition, “Ring Redux: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection,” featuring more than 100 avant-garde rings by artists who have reinvented the age-old and enduring jewelry form with a distinctively contemporary sensibility. The exhibition high-lights exceptional acquisitions made across more than five decades by Susan Grant Lewin, one of the most influential collectors of 20th- and 21st-century art jewelry. Reflecting Lewin’s openness to new artistic ideas, the collection reveals the pluralism of contemporary jewelry, resonating with aesthetic developments in art and design, craft and technology.

“Ring Redux” demonstrates the featured artists’ thought-provoking ideas, mastery of both traditional and unconventional materials, and innovative techniques, evincing the individualism and technical virtuosity of jewelers who have imaginatively created unique objects imbued with great vitality. Lewin’s collection includes works dating from the 1950s to the present by international luminaries.

“’With Ring Redux’ and its accompanying catalog, I have the immense honor of sharing my decades-long work to center and celebrate international jewelry visionaries as the true artists they are,” Lewin said. “I am grateful to Ursula Ilse-Neuman, President Wallace, SCAD Museum of Art associate curator Ben Tollefson, the artists included in the exhibition, and the entire SCAD community for the opportunity to share these exemplary works. It is my hope that their presentation in this exhibition, and later in the museum’s permanent collection, will serve to inspire creative thought and production for generations to come.”

“Ring Redux” is the second exhibition of Lewin’s vast collection hosted by the SCAD Museum of Art and a testament to the longstanding friendship cultivated between Lewin and the university. Lewin’s affinity for SCAD and Savannah dates back to her time as architecture editor for House Beautiful Magazine and her frequent travels to the Hostess City to chronicle its historic architecture and preservation works.

With its premier contemporary art museum, SCAD — home to the largest jewelry design program in the U.S. — offers the perfect venue to showcase Lewin’s collection to the next generation of artists, designers, collectors, and enthusiasts. On view August 26, 2021–January 30, 2022, in the museum’s André Leon Talley Gallery, “Ring Redux” is guest curated by Ursula Ilse-Neuman and organized by SCAD Museum of Art associate curator Ben Tollefson.

SCAD Savannah – Fall 2020 – Exhibitions – Susan Grant Lewin Collection – Rings – Documentation – "Riff on Rings" – Keys Hall – Photography Courtesy of SCAD — SCAD Savannah – Fall 2021 – Exhibitions – Susan Grant Lewin Collection – Rings – Documentation – “Riff on Rings” – Keys Hall – Photography Courtesy of SCAD

About SCAD Museum of Art

The SCAD Museum of Art features more than 10 dynamic gallery spaces presenting exhibitions and commissioned works by international emerging and established artists. The museum serves visitors and students alike, enriching both the high caliber of education at SCAD and the cultural life of the Savannah community and beyond. Exhibitions range from painting, sculpture, and photography to digital media, fashion, and jewelry, complementing the artistic disciplines offered at the university. The museum also hosts public programming year-round, including lectures, gallery talks, workshops, and film screenings.

SCAD Jewelry

The SCAD jewelry program, the largest in the U.S., prepares students for success in a $279 billion industry through an advanced-level curriculum and access to cutting-edge technological resources.

Fahm Hall, the 13,800-square-foot home of the program, features top-of-the-line technology such as two laser welders, an induction casting machine, two Orion arc welding systems, a BB70 engraver, a microscope system, dual handpiece micro-motor systems, Roland JWX-10 milling machines, and Wacom Cintiq tablets. In addition to these physical tools, Fahm Hall boasts an assortment of software resources, including Adobe Creative Cloud Complete, MatrixGold, ZBrush, and KeyShot. The building is also an authorized Rhino Fab Studio, which enables SCAD jewelry students to earn Rhino certification before graduation.

During their studies, SCAD jewelry students debut their collections at the world’s most prestigious fairs, including New York City Jewelry Week; collaborate with future CFDA Fashion Fund-winning designers in the annual SCAD FASHION shows; and build dedicated followings of collectors through university showcases and boutiques such as shop SCAD. Through SCAD pro, the university’s creative consultancy and design studio, jewelry students launch limited-edition collections and solve creative and business challenges for global companies like Zales, Michael Kors, Fossil, and Swarovski.