Creatures of the Deep

Arline Fisch is one of the most visible and influential forces in an international art jewelry movement that began in the 1940s. Artists and jewelers changed the definition of jewelry by questioning the importance of precious materials and traditional jewelry techniques. Fisch pioneered the application of textile techniques to sculptural work in metal that pushed the boundaries between jewelry and dress. Her integration of weaving, knitting, crocheting, and braiding of metal into the creation of jewelry, was a groundbreaking technique that has become standard among her contemporaries.

Fisch has rarely created anything but jewelry. However, an invitation by the Racine Art Museum to create an installation led the artist in a new direction. Fisch decided to revisit her interest in the jellyfish form. Inspired by these wonderful “creatures of the deep” she expanded her scale and produced the spectacular body of work you see here.

These pieces are made with small-gauged coated wire, called magnet wire, which is used in industry to wind armatures, transformers, and motors. The colors of Fisch’s works have been historically limited by the available colors of the wire. In more recent years, manufacturers have realized the wire’s potential as a material for contemporary craft artists, which has resulted in a much more diverse color range. Fisch incorporated these new wire colors into her families of jellyfish in the same way a painter would work from a bountiful palette.