Raïssa Bump

Raïssa Bump studied jewelry at Rhode Island School of Design and Alchimia School of Contemporary Jewelry under Giampaolo Babetto. She has been exhibiting her jewelry for over ten years and is skilled at making both intricate one-of-a-kind pieces and beautiful edition collections–all of which speak to her interest in wearable arts, textiles & textile techniques and slow & methodical handwork. Raïssa is a keen observer of her environment, very curious and enjoys adventure–her jewelry is a reflection of this. She collages together her observations into pieces that are bold from a distance, yet draw you in, ask you to look closer and notice subtle details or how light coruscates across surfaces.

‘Likenesses depend on the transformations an artist sets in motion: consider the way in so many of these pieces, hardness is worked into flexibility, opacity is made to reveal a hidden clarity, how a cut-out, petal-like design suggests an abundant offering of flowers, and then, step back a bit – even the spaces between the blooms themselves form airy bouquets. The emotional qualities of materials, too, might be expressed by way of metaphor: in Raïssa Bump’s hand, a brooch can be complex, nuanced, full of lively contradictions like the best conversationalists — both open and self-contained, inviting and sharp. Spend time engaging (brooch or person) and it’s clear: what’s just below the surface unexpectedly asserts. What’s on top, unveils itself slowly. The urbane has its rough spots; that which is raw, its elegance.’

– excerpted from On the Poetry of Likeness: Raïssa Bump by Lia Purpura, 2014.

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