Location Services: Jewelry Perspectives on Time & Place

Location Services presents perspectives on place through the lens of contemporary jewelry and objects. Furuhashi, Quick, and Thomloudis share a common interest in site, place, and origin. Coming to these shared subjects from three distinct perspectives, the artists construct a holistic view through crafted responses which are unequivocally individual. The exhibition demonstrates an explicit view where the artists observe place/site within historical and contemporary contexts of craft and the inseparable bond place has to individuality, society, and culture. The crafting of jewelry and objects is a means to profoundly support and express our identity. It exists to contain our innermost thoughts, engaging intimately with the body, while communicating with and deepening our understanding of the world that surrounds us. 

Motoko Furuhashi uses direct experiences to capture the physical and non-physical memories of selected locations. By collecting material directly from the site and creating through performative actions, Furuhashi claims the site as an extension of her studio. Furuhashi’s collection of surfaces are applied to jewelry, bringing the site directly to the wearer’s body. Kerianne Quick focuses on material origins, histories, and supply chain information to bring the wearer/viewer an expanded perspective. Connecting to the history of jewelry as objects of remembrance – the work reminds us that history is present, even when it is unseen.  Demitra Thomloudis pushes and plays with scale, placement, materials, and form to capture facets of the places we reside, visit, and explore. Her work reveals the consideration of site within the construct of jewelry and creates the opportunity to examine aspects of place, identity, value, and material sign systems.

Virtual Gallery

Click and drag, or use your arrow keys, to see a 360º view of the virtual space, including tags with object information and images.

Image Gallery:

View the objects in the exhibition below and click on each image for additional information.

Motoko Furuhashi

Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Olvera Street, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Olvera Street, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Disneyland, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Disneyland, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Broadway, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Little Tokyo, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Broadway, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Broadway, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Broadway, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Hollywood, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: LACMA, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: LACMA, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Signal Hill, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Signal Hill, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Santa Monica, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Santa Monica, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Fashion District, Craft in America
Motoko Furuhashi, Los Angeles: Fashion District, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Kerianne Quick

Location Services, Kerianne Quick, Passenger, Craft in America
Kerianne Quick, Passenger, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Kerianne Quick, Heavy with Memory, Craft in America
Kerianne Quick, Heavy with Memory, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Kerianne Quick, Newspaper Job, Craft in America
Kerianne Quick, Newspaper Job, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Kerianne Quick, This and $500 in a Coffee Can, Craft in America
Kerianne Quick, This and $500 in a Coffee Can, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Kerianne Quick, Inherited 1, Craft in America
Kerianne Quick, Inherited 1, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Kerianne Quick, Inherited 2, Craft in America
Kerianne Quick, Inherited 2, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Demitra Thomloudis

Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 6, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 6, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 5, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 5, 2020. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 3, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 3, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 2, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 2, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 1, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 1, 2020. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over Stack, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over Stack, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Location Services, Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 4, Craft in America
Demitra Thomloudis, The In-between and Over 4, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Gallery View

Craft in America, Location Services
Gallery View of Location Services. Photo: Madison Metro
Craft in America, Location Services
Gallery View of Location Services. Photo: Madison Metro
Craft in America, Location Services
Gallery View of Location Services. Photo: Madison Metro
Craft in America, Location Services
Gallery View of Location Services. Photo: Madison Metro

About the artists:

Motoko Furuhashi was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her works has been inspired by her experiences traveling around the world, and road that takes her to go one place to another. She received MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she teaches at New Mexico State University. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, the Oakland Museum of California, Alliages Contemporary Art Jewellery in Lille, France and Nobana Art Works in Ginza in Tokyo, Japan.

Kerianne Quick is a Southern Californian, craftsperson, and Associate Professor of Jewelry and Metalwork at San Diego State University. Quick received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Applied Design from SDSU, Master of Fine Arts in Metal from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and worked as a research assistant for Dutch designer Gijs Bakker in the Amsterdam. Highlights from their exhibition record include the Museum of Art and Design (NYC), Museo Franz Mayer (CDMX), the National Museum for Women in the Arts (D.C.), Salon del Mobile (Milan), and Design Week Amsterdam. Quick’s work is included in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Netherlands Design Museum (Stedelijk). Quick’s research is rooted in exploring craft as cultural phenomena, with an emphasis on jewelry and personal adornment. They have received numerous grants including a Kinley Fellowship and several University Project Grants. Quick co-founded and edits the zine/journal CRAFT DESERT with professor Adam John Manley (SDSU), does curatorial projects as Secret Identity Projects with professor Jess Tolbert (UTEP), and is the co-author of the (Affective) Craft Manifesto.

Demitra Thomloudis is a studio jeweler and an associate professor at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. Her investigation of the human body and its relationship to jewelry have manifested in works of art that challenge our assumptions about jewelry and its meaning, power and value. Her research, which explores jewelry’s capacity to express the interrelationship of person and place, has earned her an international reputation in the field, as well as numerous accolades and invitations to participate in exhibitions and residencies. These include: The Museum of Arts and Design in New York; The Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece; The Museum for Modern Art in Arnhem, Netherlands; The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, Australia and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City, Mexico.  Her work can be found in numerous private collections and permanently at the Museum Espace Solidor in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France,  the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum in Athens Greece and the Georgia Museum of Art.  Her work is represented by Charon Kransen Arts-USA and the Penland Gallery located at the Penland School of Crafts.

Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Craft in America

The Craft in America Center is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. www.lacountyarts.org.