JamFactory ICON Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion
Image | Julie Blyfield Viridescent wall pieces #1-3 2024 | Photography by Grant Hancock
Exhibition | JamFactory ICON Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion
Artist | Julie Blyfield
Dates | 12 February – 28 March 2026
Opening | Thursday 12 February. Artist Talks at 5:30pm, Opening from 6pm and Official Speeches from 6:30pm | RSVP here
Catalogue | Buy the Work | Room Sheet
Exhibition Statement
JamFactory’s ICON series celebrates the achievements of South Australia’s most influential visual artists working in craft-based media. With a practice spanning 35 years, Julie Blyfield is a jeweller and metalsmith who is renowned for her intricately crafted jewellery and sculptural objects that capture the essence of the Australian landscape. Often referencing specimens found in natural history collections, as well as those she collects herself in nature, Blyfield’s jewellery and objects take inspiration from the forms, textures and patterns of Australian botanicals, plants and marine life. The major touring exhibition JamFactory ICON Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion presents a new collection of meticulously crafted works, inspired by Blyfield’s experience of visiting the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland.
One of Australia’s most revered contemporary craft practitioners, Blyfield is highly skilled in the traditional metalsmithing technique of chasing and repoussé. These techniques are central to the creation of her delicate and ornately patterned works, which are primarily constructed of sterling silver and bi- metal. Arising from the French word chasser (‘to chase’), chasing is a process whereby intricate designs are struck using a chasing hammer and small steel tools to create line and pattern on the annealed metal surface. The technique of chasing dates to 3000 BCE and is applied in conjunction with the technique of repoussé (‘push up’ in French), in which raised designs are made by hitting the metal upwards from both the front and reverse sides to create volume and form.
The major national touring exhibition JamFactory ICON Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion presents a new collection of meticulously crafted works, inspired by Blyfield’s experience of visiting the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef in far North Queensland. As designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both of these natural environments are celebrated for their rich biodiversity, exceptional beauty and universal value to humanity. Influenced by her lived experiences of these sites, Blyfield also reflected on the coral specimens stored at the South Australian Museum to inform her making process.
“I see the world of plants and nature through the lens of a jeweller – the micro world and all its details are a fascination for me,”
Blyfield says. “I enjoy working from the ephemeral, reinterpreting nature s details which I experience and witness firsthand... I am touched by nature.”
Artist Biography
Initially studying teaching, Julie Blyfield completed an Associate Diploma of Jewellery Making and Silversmithing from the South Australian College of the Arts and Education in 1987. Since this time, Blyfield has established a highly respected career which has encompassed teaching and mentoring alongside her artistic practice, travelling, lecturing and presenting workshops across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. She regularly mentors emerging jewellers, sharing her knowledge, skill and professional experience with the next generation of makers.
In 2007, Blyfield was the recipient of the prestigious South Australian Living Artist (SALA) Award. Several years later in 2011, she received First Prize in the South Australian Museum’s Waterhouse Natural History Acquisitive Prize and an Honourable Mention at the CHEONGJU International Craft Biennale in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Blyfield’s most significant solo exhibitions include flowers of the sea, which was presented at the Samstag Museum of Art in 2022; Flora, which was presented at the Irene Belfi Gallery in Milan, Italy in 2018, and Panorama, which toured internationally to Wales, Scotland and Canberra throughout 2017.
A prolific maker, Blyfield’s works can be found in prominent Australian public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, South Australian Museum, National Gallery of Victoria, Powerhouse Museum, Queensland Art Gallery and Art Gallery of Western Australia. Her work is also featured in a number of internationally significant public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France; National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Museum of Bohemian Paradise, Turnov Collection, Turnov, Czech Republic. Blyfield’s work has been shown in several international art and design fairs, such as Collect, London, England and SOFA Chicago in the United States of America, as well as being selected for Schmuck, the prestigious international jewellery exhibition in Germany, and the Schoonhoven Silver Award in the Netherlands
JamFactory ICON Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion is a JamFactory touring exhibition.
