LAWRENCE WOODFORD
Bio
Lawrence Woodford received his college degree in jewellery and metal arts at the École de Joaillerie in Montreal and his MFA from NSCAD University in Halifax, Canada.
He won his first award as best emerging artist the following year and has maintained a professional studio practice as a jewellery artist for the last 10 years while teaching for three years at two visual arts institutions. During this period he received accolades from his peers through awards and research grants.
He has participated in artist residencies around the world and was recently invited to Sydney College of the Arts as a guest artist and lecturer. He is currently preparing a solo exhibition in Washington DC.Lawrence has taught different levels of jewellery, specifically focusing on teaching alternative materials in jewellery; he was also a studio advisor for undergraduates at NSCAD University. Participating in international exhibitions like SOFA, being published in numerous anthologies on contemporary jewellery art and public speaking, Lawrence Woodford’s contribution to this art form is significant.”Creating a wearable object within an innovative framework is a main area of focus and alludes to an improvisational characteristic and aesthetic in these fabricated sculptural ornaments. Incorporating composite and re-purposed materials blurs the boundaries between natural and artificial and provides a moment for contemplation. By referencing components that have origins in traditional jewellery, and using new processes and materials allows for tradition to evolve organically, for example; prongs that have been removed from their original function of securing a gemstone, could now be used to suggest the absence of something positive. By these and other deconstructed processes, I am re-evaluating and redefining the language of the contemporary jewellery object.”
