JB Blunk Estate Presents Rings by JB Blunk x J. Hannah

JB Blunk Estate Presents

Rings by JB Blunk x J. Hannah

BLUM invites you to celebrate the launch of reproductions of JB Blunk’s iconic unisex rings, in collaboration with LA fine jewelry designer J. Hannah. Light refreshments served, and rings will be available for pre-order. Each ring will be produced in a limited edition of 50, and will be available in silver and recycled 18-karat gold versions.

This event is free and open to all. RSVP is encouraged.

View the rings here.

Working primarily in wood and ceramic, artist James Blain Blunk (1926–2002) developed a distinct style during his career that drew upon the Japanese principle of directness as well as an unfaltering reverence for the particular qualities of natural materials. Taking archetypal forms and translating them instinctively through raw, salvaged materials, Blunk produced a body of work that represents an innate expression of, and conversation with, nature.

Blunk began making jewelry in 1954 at Palos Verdes College in Los Angeles, where he taught ceramics after returning from four years in Japan. He continued to make one-off pieces throughout his life from his studio in Inverness, California. While the rings themselves were treasured gifts for the family and friends for whom Blunk made them, they are also reminiscent of Blunk’s monumental sculptures and indeed often served as models for larger works, making them wearable sculptures. Throughout his decades-long career, working on a small scale was also a way to return consistently to a particularly engaging shape, such as a keyhole-figure or an uneven, dynamic circle.

The bracelets, necklaces, and earrings that Blunk made, both sculptural and wearable, were bespoke works intended for his loved ones, most often his partner Christine Nielson and his daughter Mariah Nielson. While they hewed to ancient, archetypal forms, these were conceived with the wearer in mind. Christine and Mariah wore these rings for years, making them into beloved heirlooms. These objects of wearable art are both substantial and delicate, bringing this pioneering artist’s work into the world of the everyday.

“For years, friends have asked me to make editions of these very special heirloom pieces, which my mom and I have worn for so much of our lives,” says Mariah Nielson, Blunk’s daughter and the Director of the JB Blunk Estate. “In the process of casting and refining the designs using gold and silver, the rings have transformed into bold accessories which retain the elegance and purity of the originals.”

Says Jess Hannah Révész, Founder of J. Hannah: “It has been a sincere pleasure to collaborate with the JB Blunk Estate, and to help reinvigorate a selection of pieces from their private collection. Art, history, and the juxtaposition of the storied with the contemporary is paramount to my inspiration and process. Given the heartbeat of my work, Mariah's request to recreate and realize works from Blunk's oeuvre was an exciting and welcomed challenge. From translating the original materiality and organic nature of the pieces into a construction that functions in metal to selecting the final finish textures, though the original designs were not of my own it was nonetheless creatively fulfilling to hone in on the specificity of the details. A wellspring of beauty can be found in restraint, quiet and honesty. Blunk's jewelry was made exclusively for those he most cherished—an ethos that resonates with my practice and all pieces we make at J. Hannah. Each piece feels intimate and intentional – destined to take on a life of its own after it leaves our hands, by the wearer. I'm grateful to Mariah and the Blunk Estate for thinking of J. Hannah in this special reissue.”

The four designs:

Continuum is based on a ring that Blunk carved for Christine for Valentine’s Day 1975, from a single piece of ivory brought by Christine’s mother from Taiwan. Like the massive outdoor redwood sculpture Continuum, which Blunk finished the same year, the circle is both continuous and marked by a distinct beginning and end. This particular shape is more pronounced and sinuously anthropomorphic, harkening back to ancient art. Continuum is available in sterling silver ($700) and 18-karat gold ($9,400).

Another ring from the ivory tusk, made by Blunk for Christine in 1980, is the basis for Presence. Though Christine loved jade, she owned a jade necklace which she never wore. In a gesture of care and attention, Blunk repurposed the jade and incorporated it into a piece of jewelry she would actually wear. The ring is striking and powerful, reminiscent of Blunk’s iconic sculpture Presence made in 1968. Presence is available in sterling silver ($1,200) and 18-karat gold ($14,800), with Nephrite Jade.

Muse takes the shape of a ring Blunk made in 1974, as a Christmas gift for Christine. She considered it their wedding ring, and wore it on her ring finger for decades. Earlier that year, Blunk had finished one of his well-known public seating sculptures, The Muse (1973–74), at the Experiment in International Living in Vermont, carved from one contiguous salvaged Redwood burl. Muse is available in sterling silver with a sterling silver bead ($780), sterling silver with an 18-karat gold bead ($1,600), 18-karat white gold with an 18-karat gold bead ($9,600), and 18-karat gold with an 18-karat gold bead ($9,600).

In 1988, Blunk made the basis for Crown for his daughter Mariah, then 11 years old. The symmetrical, tightly refined style is unusual for JB's work, even his jewelry. Though the original was wrought in silver and gold, Blunk worked the shapes as he would hand-assemble his ceramics. Crown has the elegance of pearls in a strand and the humorous brightness of the experimental kiln that Blunk built with friends in the early 1960s, which was covered in hand-rolled clay spheres. Crown is available in sterling silver with sterling silver beads ($680), sterling silver with 18-karat gold beads ($1,200), 18-karat white gold with 18-karat gold beads ($5,200), and 18-karat gold with 18-karat gold beads ($5,200).

Limited parking available. Rideshare highly encouraged.

Host or Publisher Blum & Poe