Premiering during Munich Jewelry Week 2024 From Feb 29-March 2
‘a call for darkness’ holds what happens in the dark close to the heart. The fear, care, excitement, shade and glimmer. American artists Aaron P Decker and steven KP present an exhibition of new jewelry works that have developed over the past year from their collaborative discussions. Don’t be afraid of the dark.
As part of 3xUSA, Zirka Studios will host a two-person exhibition composed by American Jewelry artists Aaron P Decker and steven KP during Munich Jewelry Week 2024. Aaron P Decker is a jeweler and enamellist based in Detroit, Michigan and received their MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2015. steven KP is an artist based in Providence, Rhode Island and received their MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2020.
Location:
ZIRKA
Dachauer Str. 110c
80636 München
To mark Aaron Decker's first international Solo Exhibition, Galerie Reverso is excited to present several pendants, brooches, and necklaces from the artists ongoing body of work, Morningstar.
What makes someone evil? Is it their cunning actions, the terror they inflict, or their pride in challenging the status quo? While the essence of evil has morphed with societies, centuries of flat and shadowlike images in the Western Canon have given evil an aesthetic focused on weapons, horns, hooved feet, and menacing spikes. The Devil personifies evil and epitomizes this aesthetic; his name Lucifer translates to ‘dawn-bringer’ in Latin, referencing the planet Venus’s appearance in the East just before sunrise and the Devil’s position among Angels as the brightest before his fall from grace. In Morningstar, I reference flattened skies of metal and components of maces, horns, and fallen stars to cast shadows of doubt on whether evil is innate or assigned. When shrunk to the scale of a toy, is evil exposed as essence or exteriority?
This question logically follows my previous body of work, it’s (not) all fun and games. In both bodies of work, I examine a normative identity imposed on me, where my villainy was rooted in sexuality. In it’s (not) all fun and games, I examined the tension between queer sexuality as an essence and as an evil assignment by others. Colorful explosions and uncomfortable grimaces plagued that body of work like a saccharin reminder to smile because it was ‘all going to be ok.’ In these pieces, identity was a confrontation to be won.
In contrast, Morningstar empathizes with that monster. What is Villainy anyway, and who gets to decide?
“There are no heroes, and there are no villains. There are just opposing points of view. That’s all history is…the viciously long battle between world views.” – Peter J. Tomasi
Morningstar explores who is liable for the falling (or is it felling?) of an angel. Stories are filled with the opposing forces of Good and Evil. Are we being told only one side of the story? From this devil’s perspective, is everyone else the villain?
The pieces in Morningstar could be mistaken for toys. Their horns and protruding spikes cast shadows across the flat enameled planes that hint at the work’s dark undercurrent. I play with malevolent symbols and cartoonish depictions of evil at the scale of a toy and sandwich flat enameled planes between them, providing an altered evil aesthetic that raises the question of whether evil’s valence is inherent or assigned.
Jewel Encrusted, spiky, and tones painted across zig zags of pink, yellow, or green gold. How many precious things can go onto one ring? The jewelry your mother gave you, the ring her mother gave her, jewels passed down generation to generation.
Each ring unique, harking back to the encrusted object of royalty, a crown for ones finger to hold and spin as you see confetti shades of colors, diamonds, and glistening reflections
Limited Edition, made to order with new or family heirloom stones and gold.
Pendant, Keychain, Necklace - 18K gold and enamel lockets to hold something precious, or to carry around as a reminder to smile.
Each locket us unique, no two are alike.
Inquire for more colors available
Locket, 2021-
18K Gold, Enamel,
26” Chain - can be worn as standalone necklace or without lil bomb charm
A candelabra who has crossed his swords overhead, standing over his foe dead on the ground, the crimson blood dripping onto his face as he howls in victory.
Brass, Gold Plated, Edition of 5
Enough space inside to hold your matches and unmentionables.
Premiered during Salon NY, 2022 with Ornamentum Gallery
“Why the hell are we all protecting the most useless player, and why does he have so much power? The game of chess is a great metaphor. The sides mirror one another, they are literally the same, pieces. The pawns are many, the powerful are few. And the overarching idea, protect the weakest guy, but also, he is a king.... I wanted to reimagine the game of chess more honestly. A short, stout king with no visible weapon other than an idea, religion. A queen who we all know is the most powerful, her weapons pointy and stilted. The knight, bishop, and rook, all quite large, with only singular purposes. And the pawns, usually the youngest soldiers put to the frontlines, are literal babies. Each piece hinges at its waist. When taken by another side, the piece dies, is cracked open, and splat, lays flat with its legs and head up, as though broken in two. Games hide violent seduction. We all want to be powerful and win, don't we?”
Chess Set, Edition of 5
Silver, Enamel, Wood, Garnet Sand, 18K gold, Wool Felt
Premiered during Salon NY, 2022 with Ornamentum Gallery
Enameled grimaces, floppy fish, and medieval maces clip together assembling necklaces, brooches, and lockets in the body of works titled it’s (not) all fun and games. A body of work inspired by difficult experiences growing up queer in a military household, Decker skillfully sources and recontextualizes those memories into jewelry. Each piece its own micro narrative with titles such as mace face, cut my teeth, and luke, a flying fish, these new enamels combine a deep curiosity for the material and its history in military medals and regalia with the fascination of toys and play to make pieces that come apart, and reconfigure into an array of different wearable possibilities.
