Incubators
Solo exhibition at Galerie Rob Koudijs
26 03 2022 — 14 05 2022
Ted Noten, known for his playful and unconventional influence on the field of contemporary jewelry, never considered there to be a separation between the field of fine art and conceptual jewelry. It is all content and language. Jewelry is Notens most devious tool, it is a means to seduce his audience, drawing us in closer until the true intention and provocative nature of his work is unavoidable. Noten ‘attacks’ convention though the eyes of an artist; commentating on our society and using jewelry as his ‘weapon’.
Considering a request for a retrospective Noten instead lands on a new body of work, Incubators. “How can I, an artist of 31 years with an expansive and varied breadth of work, create a show to bring out the essence of my artistic career? The working series, Incubators, is a portrait of Ted Noten. Incubators captures his influence not through an attempt in finding the essence of ‘self’, but by bringing the attention to the figures throughout his life who have had a lasting and irreplaceable influence. Noten resonates on the significance of the smiling old lady he passed on the street, the power of the flagrant pop song screamed in the bedroom with the stereo turned all the way up and the door locked, the first person of color he saw on the podium; the moments both big and small muddled in the back of our brains that shape who we become.
A tribute; Noten proposes to make a necklace for each of the individuals represented in Incubators. In the same way the Romans would recognize people of influence by adorning them in wreaths, Notens necklaces pay homage to his ‘icons’. Many of these names are notable, some appear to be deeply personal, and a few quite objectionable characters. “Would it be an honest discourse without 1-2 insults” say’s Noten, “…I, and the rest of humanity, unfortunately, have been tainted by disturbing histories and lasting prejudices.” As time passes society begins to slowly progress and our awareness matures, we can only move forward if we understand the past.
Letting intuition play a major role in the process, Noten stimulates his subconscious notions of each person and allows feeling to take precedence over aesthetics. The series began prior to the global Covid-19 pandemic, not being a prosperous situation for artists, Noten put the making of this work on hold. Having spent 2020 planning, conceptualizing, and concentrating on the essence of this work, Noten is only left without the means to make.
A necklace of sound, a brick wall, and tedious goldsmithing gives us a glimpse of what to expect from Notens exhibition of these Incubators.
