About

Violet Weiner is a Portland-based interdisciplinary metalsmith expected to graduate in 2020 with a BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the Maine College of Art. Her work includes a wide range of material, including but not limited to taxidermy, stone, hair, plastic, silicone and precious metals. Her current body of work investigates abjection— the state of being physically or psychologically cast off — through objects that follow traditional jewelry typeforms. She cites the work of Patricia Piccinini and Dan Lam as major influences, and draws visual inspiration from religious kitsch, 70’s interior design, decomposition stains, gelatin salads, taxidermy, frosting roses, stalactites, raw meat, gastropods, kewpie dolls, and fungi. Ultimately, the goal of Violet’s work is to elicit a psychosomatic response in those interacting with the piece, simultaneous seduction and repulsion, the desire to touch and the desire to cringe away. Additionally, Weiner is training to be a bench jeweler under Patricia Daunis-Dunning of Daunis Fine Jewelry.