Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER

Harold O`Connor

About the Artists

Harold O`Connor Meanderings – Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Place: Copper Museum, Patryzantów 3

Exhibition open till: 11^th June 2017

Harold O’Connor – American artist, born 23.08.1941 in Utica, New York, currently lives and Works in Salida, Colorado (USA). A practicing goldsmith & teacher for over 40 years.

Like his work and his concept of it, O’Connor defies ordinary labels. Not just a goldsmith or jeweler, he remains a singular artist of extraordinary experience and depth. Educated in the great European goldsmith centres (National Arts & Crafts School, Copenhagen, Denmark; National Arts School, Helsinki, Finland; College of Art & Design, Pforzheim, Germany; International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, Salzburg, Austria), he has participated in scores of one-man shows, invitational and juried exhibitions, lectures, and has had many articles about him published in Europe and America. He is the author of “The Jewelers Bench Reference” (a standard reference work on the jeweller’s art) and “The Flexibleshaft Machine”. He has conducted countless workshops throughout the world including Portugal, Czech Republic, Estonia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, England, former Yugoslavia, Peru, USA and Canada. O’Connor is one of the few masters who continues to work most of his metal from the bullion stage by smelting, alloying, rolling, drawing, forging, annealing and fabricating each of his pieces by hand.

OConnor

After studying psychology, sociology and philosophy; obtaining a degree in anthropology (specializing in the field of ethnology) I was drawn back to my former interest in working with my hands. As a youngster I was attracted to building miniature structures of various materials. My artist mother encouraged my creative endeavors during my formative years and through high school.

OConnor

Upon completion of university studies I was attracted to create metal art. I wanted to use my mind together with my hands and also with my heart. I have been at this creative pursuit for over 55 years, earning a living from what I love to do. Being an artist is how I chose to spend my time here on Earth – every day being new and different.

I approach jewelry making as a fine art. I enjoy working with diverse materials for their aesthetic value, NOT their intrinsic value. My work over the years has focused upon using traditional techniques of metalwork in a contemporary way. My works are sculptural in nature as my influences are inspired from living and past sculptures working in stone, wood and metal. I create small objects which happen to be wearable. Other influences in my art come from my travels to exotic lands, interaction with nature, and reaction to facets of society.

Harold O’Connor

Harold O’Connor’s works can be seen in private and public collections including:

The National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, Tennessee, USA; The Goldsmiths Hall, London, England; Cesky Raj Museum, Turnov, Czech Republic; The Gallery of Art, Legnica, Poland; The German Goldsmith Society, Hanau, Germany; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., USA.