Museums
Exhibitions and Collections
Adam Neeley, master jeweler and alchemist, creates wearable art that establishes a distinct presence in contemporary art history. As jewelry has gained recognition as an art form, Neeley’s pieces are highlighted in private collections, museum showcases, and national exhibitions.
LAGUNA ART MUSEUM
Modern Alchemy
The Fusion Of Art And Nature In The Jewelry Designs Of Adam Neeley
Laguna Beach, California
February 17, 2024 – July 29, 2024
Modern Alchemy: The Fusion Of Art And Nature In The Jewelry Designs Of Adam Neeley explored the creative working processes of the innovative, award-winning jeweler Adam Neeley. Neeley combined traditional goldsmith techniques with modern technology to transform precious metals and gemstones into wearable fine art. Collaborating with world-class lapidaries, such as Stephen Avery, Neeley created truly imaginative pieces that went beyond contemporary design into the realm of dreams and fantasy. The exhibition explored this innovative jeweler’s history and working process while treating patrons to some of the raw and faceted gems and minerals he used.
Presented at the Laguna Art Museum, this solo exhibition featured more than 100 works by the internationally recognized and award-winning jeweler Adam Neeley. Modern Alchemy explored the creative working processes, history, and innovative goldsmithing techniques through a 25-year retrospective of Neeley’s wearable fine art.
Nautilus Earrings
“Adam Neeley, artist, jeweler, and alchemist, creates jewelry that is forged from an imagination stimulated by the sensuous beauty found in nature. His designs transcend the boundaries of conventional jewelry to create wearable art that is unique and intriguing. His alchemical processes combine traditional jewelry techniques with modern technology to change metals into brilliant colors, complemented by rare gemstones in a myriad of hues.
-Timothy Adams, Curator & Jewelry Historian
Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History
South Sea Glow Pendant
Washington, D.C.
Adam Neeley’s pendant, South Sea Glow, is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection. The Smithsonian chose the piece as an exemplary representation of American art jewelry for its timeless design, innovative technique, and inspiration derived from nature’s beauty.
While living in Florence, Italy, designer Adam Neeley sketched a curvaceous form that would later become the South Sea Glow Pendant. Unlimited by what he knew to be possible, Neeley simply translated his vision onto paper with a determination to make it possible. Here’s what he imagined: A lustrous suite of pearls fading from a rich golden hue into white, dancing along a hand-hewn form of matching gradient gold. Neeley had to create a new gold alloy to accomplish his ombré vision. After many failed attempts, Neeley discovered a process to fuse and forge his colored golds together seamlessly and titled it SpectraGold™.
ALFIE NORVILLE
Gem and Mineral Museum
Oracle Cuprian Tourmaline Necklace
Tucson, AZ
In 2015, Somewhere in the Rainbow (SITR), a modern gem & jewelry collection invited Adam to design for the collection for the first time and provided him with a magnificent 17.83 carat cuprian tourmaline. This fabulous gem proved to be an enticing muse. In order to highlight the tourmaline’s vivid green color, the necklace includes a collar of green titanium encircled with undulating curves and curls of white gold set sparkling with more than 1,000 pavé-set diamonds.
Gemological Institute of America
G.I.A. Museum
Inferno Pin
Carlsbad, CA
The Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) Museum prominently featured works by the esteemed American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC), of which Adam Neeley has been a distinguished member since 2011. Following its debut at the Forbes Galleries in New York City in October 2013, the exhibition journeyed to the Kent State University Museum in October 2014, and subsequently to the GIA Museum in Carlsbad, CA.
With Inferno, I wanted to capture the evanescent beauty of fire. At the flame’s center, a distinctive, fantasy-cut golden citrine by Lew Wackler smolders. To complement the gem, I added luminous tendrils of smoke, formed with ribbons of my signature SpectraGold™. The delicate curves showcase SpectraGold™’s seamless gradient from a rich yellow gold into white gold, which is the result of a unique and time-intensive goldsmithing technique.”
– Adam Neeley
Variations on a Theme: 25 Years of Design by the American Jewelry Design Council concluded its tenure at the GIA Museum in Carlsbad, CA, in February 2017. This comprehensive exhibition, which also showcased the AJDC Design Projects from 2015 (‘Fire’) and 2014 (‘Rhythm’), commenced in Carlsbad in August 2015. A notable gala opening event was held at GIA on October 8, 2015, in conjunction with the GIA Career Fair. The exhibition was accessible to the public during the GIA museum hours, attracting over 17,000 visitors during its display period.
HEADLEY-WHITNEY
Museum of Art
Stripes Brooch
Lexington, KY
In celebration of the Headley-Whitney Museum’s 50th anniversary, a special exhibition called Convergence was curated. The show featured work by the esteemed American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC), of which Adam has been a member since 2011. The Convergence exhibit displayed a noteworthy range of influences, styles, and techniques, from minimal Scandinavian design, to Art Deco, to Surrealism. Drawing on decades of design project work, curator Amy Gundrun Greene elected to display jewelry art created by AJDC artists for the following five themes: Fire, Ice, Stripes, Wave, and Transformation. Commenting on the show, editor at the Philadelphia Museum of Art David Updike observed, “one also soon discovers that each of these pieces tells a story.”
“The stark angles and contrast of the tourmaline crystals inherent to this stone are nature’s elegant and timeless stripes. The beautiful inclusions within and Munsteiner’s expert cut inspired me, informing my choice of materials, form, and finish.”
– Adam Neeley
Adam created “Stripes” as a part of the 2016 AJDC annual design project for the theme of the same name. This stately lapel pin (pictured above) showcases a quartz with needle-like tourmaline inclusions. Accentuating this gem’s natural texture is a phenomenal fantasy cut by world-renowned lapidary Tom Munsteiner. This unique gemstone brought stripes to mind for Adam, making it a perfect fit for the AJDC project.
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