(PRESS RELEASE) Rio Grande reveals the 40 finalists selected in the 2020 Saul Bell Design Award competition and introduces the two panels of experts tasked with judging the finalists’ work in this year’s competition. Rio Grande is the organizer of the annual Saul Bell Design Award competition.
Now in its 20th year, this international competition renews its challenge to jewelers and metalsmiths to push their creativity in new and exciting directions, to seize their moments to forge new pathways with their artistry. Since launching the competition in 2000, with the first winners announced in 2001, the Saul Bell Design Award has grown into one of the most sought-after honors for jewelry makers worldwide. Finalist’s pieces are judged on the quality and originality of design, as well as technical excellence.
The Saul Bell Design Award competition is unique for its intensive judging process. Two rounds are judged by a total of ten jewelers and industry leaders who are masters of their craft. In the initial round, five judges look for originality of design, proposed use of materials, and aesthetics to select finalists. In the final round, a second panel of five judges examines completed finalist pieces up close, in the hand, and on model, looking for successful incorporation of materials, wearability (except in the Hollowware/Art Objects category) and quality of workmanship.
There are eight categories in the 2020 competition: Gold/Platinum, Silver/Argentium Silver, Enamel, Hollowware/Art Objects, Alternative Metals/Materials, Jewelry Collections, and two categories of Emerging Jewelry Artist.
In this international competition, finalists have been selected from hundreds of entries received from more than a dozen countries. Winners will be announced at an awards dinner to be held on May 17, 2020, in Albuquerque, NM. Downloadable high-resolution photos of each entry are available at saulbellaward.com
2020 Finalists
Gold/Platinum
“Aberration” by Thomas Dailing (Stevens Point, WI, USA)
“The River of Life” by Evgenii Fedko (Rutherford, NJ, USA)
“Lomalagi” by Rosario Garcia (Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA)
“Coral Ring” by Pavit Gujral (Chandigarh, India)
“Untitled” by Robin Waynee (Chimayo, NM, USA)
Silver/Argentium Silver
“Samsara Pendant” by Katelyn Butler (Charlottesville, VA, USA)
“Silver Scale Necklace” by Ryan Gardner (Pueblo, CO, USA)
“Kaleidoscope” by Sophia Hu (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
“Lunares Eclipsim” by Kirk Lang (Seattle, WA, USA)
“Semper Anticus” by Miles McDonald (Boulder, CO, USA)
Enamel
“Frozen” by Anna Betley (Aleksandrówka, Kozienice, Poland)
“Green Melody” by Lillian Jones (Raleigh, NC, USA)
“Flat Fish” by Jeanie Pratt (Nipomo, CA, USA)
“The Secret Garden” by Merry-Lee Rae (Freedom, CA, USA)
“Planets and Moons #1” by Amy Roper-Lyons (Summit, NJ, USA)
Hollowware/Art Objects
“Palace of the Western Sky” by Elichai Fowler (Billings, MO, USA)
“Shining Light” by Donald Johnston (Klamath Falls, OR, USA)
“Greeting From Holland” by Gabri Schumacher (Schoonhoven, Netherlands)
“Surprise Box” by Henry Spencer (Effingham, NH, USA)
“Kampai” by Susan Coddon (Atlanta, GA, USA)
Alternative Metals/Materials
“Titanium Leaves, Everlasting Nature” by Adam Bartl (Munich, Germany)
“Nest” by Stanislavv Drokin (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
“Beetle” by Evgenii Fedko (Rutherford, NJ, USA)
“Primavera” by Linda MacNeil (Kensington, NH, USA)
“Cosmic Winds” by Liz Sabol (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
Jewelry Collection
“Gold Bubble Collection” by Ryan Gardner (Pueblo, CO, USA)
“Dancing Fish Collection” by Pavit Gujral (Chandigarh, India)
“Trusses Collection” by Sophia Hu (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
“Meeting Series” by Deborah Vivas (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
“Broken Shards, Mending Scars” by Melanie Morgan (Athens, GA, USA)
Emerging Jewelry Artist 18 Years of Age or Younger
“Branches” by Evan-Carlo Fowler (Corte Madera, CA, USA)
“Yellow Mergeurite” by Peyton Rogers (Fort Worth, TX, USA)
“Blooming” by Ruby Santamaria Murillo (Fort Worth, TX, USA)
“Serenity” by Brianna Strange (Allen, TX, USA)
“The Woods of Imperfect Beauty” by Zoe Wright-Riley (Villanova, PA, USA)
Emerging Jewelry Artist 22 Years of Age or Younger
“Dilate” by Louis Kutyla (Washington, DC, USA)
“Zephyr” by Christopher Liu (Allen, TX, USA)
“Sliding Jigsaw Brooch” by Qianwen Lu (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
“Chimera” by Abbi Tucker (Savannah, GA, USA)
“Free Your Mind” by Maikel Ye (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
2020 Judges
Judge biographies and photos are available at saulbellaward.com
First Round
Keri Ataumbi
Nancy Attaway
Alex Boyd
Scott Bradford
Ronda Coryell
Final Round
David Freda
Claudia Kretchmer
Jeff Mathews
So Young Park
Shelly Sergent