The balanced forms of Mariko Husain’s hand made silver and gold jewelry are strongly influenced by her immersion in the simplicity of Scandinavian design while living in Denmark. But the lyricism and aesthetic concepts of her forms essentially derive from her Japanese roots. The work in this exhibition represents Ms. Husain’s 30 year journey as a maker of fine hand-made jewelry.

Mariko Husain was born in Japan where she received her first undergraduate degree in Sociology from Meiji Gakuin University in 1970. Because she wanted to wear jewelry that was different from what she saw in Japan, she began to study basic techniques from a jewelry designer. It was her fascination with the simple designs of Scandinavia that took her to Denmark and later to London where she earned a Diploma in Art from Barnet College in 1979, and in 1982 was awarded a second undergraduate degree with honors in Jewelry Design from Central School of Art and Design. Since 1981 her work has been shown in 13 solo exhibitions in Tokyo and in 10 group exhibitions in Glasgow,London and Boston, including Glasgow’s Design Center, the Birmingham Museum, Leicester Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum Goldsmith Hall, and Design Center. For three years, she was awarded First and Second Prizes in Goddard’s International Competition in London.

Ms. Husain says the origins of all her designs stem from nature and her desire to express the beauty and emotions the natural world evokes in her. She is endlessly fascinated with the many qualities of water: color, patterns, textures, power, rhythm, movement, sound, even stillness, and this exhibition features about 100 distinctive water pieces which are hand fashioned from sterling silver and 18K yellow gold, their flowing forms occasionally punctuated with precious and semi-precious stones.

Ms. Husain does not cast her pieces, but makes each component by hand because she prefers to customize the finish of the surfaces of the individual components. She finds this also helps her balance her jewelry so that it is comfortable to wear. Her fondness for matte finishes has led her to learn varying techniques of finishing, and she frequently uses “paper pressing” wherein she uses textiles or paper with varying textures to create delicate surfaces. In many pieces, she defines a line or clarifies the shape by the complex technique of soldering gold wire to the edges of silver pieces.

Mariko Husain now lives in Bedford, New Hampshire, with her husband.