La Frontera exhibition at Velvet da Vinci jewellery gallery, San Francisco

Among the works on show at San Francisco's Velvet da Vinci gallery is this brooch, by Danielle Embry, 2013
Among the works on show at San Francisco's Velvet da Vinci gallery is this brooch, by Danielle Embry, 2013
(Image credit: press)

Velvet da Vinci, the art-jewellery gallery in the upcoming Polk Street area of San Francisco's Tenderloin district is not only an essential shopping stop for Silicon Valley CEOs, it's a first choice for international museums and art galleries looking to tour big shows too. And so, this month, La Frontera, arrives.

A joint curatorial project between Velvet da Vinci gallery and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico, La Frontera (Spanish for 'the border') explores the human implications of the 2000-mile-long wall that runs between six Mexican and four US states through 150 wearable works of art.

'In recent years, drug trafficking and violence have made it the focus of almost daily news. However, there is also a constant exchange of ideas, money, projects, families, and culture,' says Velvet da Vinci co-owner Mike Holmes, who has shared curatorial duties with the Mexican jeweller Lorena Lazard. It is this wider cultural significance that La Frontera seeks to reveal. As is often the way with art jewels, some pieces are far stronger on narrative than they on wearability, but Holmes and his gallery partner Elizabeth Shypertt have a well-earned reputation for getting the balance right.

The quiet nature of US artist Danielle Embry's pale blue and bone-enamelled 'Three Days' brooch is a case in point. Embry's inspiration was the Days maps made by the Humane Borders charity to dissuade immigrants from crossing the border on foot. British artist Thomas Hill's expressive 'California Red Legged Frog' pendant, meanwhile, gives a sense of environment, while The Argentinian Maria Solorzano's 3185cm silk thread- and-ceramic necklace is formed of thousands of tiny knots to represent the dreams of these risking all to cross.

Ultimately, though, it is the scale of works on show at La Frontera that will make it just as compelling for collectors and art-jewellery aficionados as it will be for anyone visiting, for it promises to intrigue, surprise and whip up debate too.

A joint curatorial project between Velvet da Vinci gallery and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico

A joint curatorial project between Velvet da Vinci gallery and the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico, La Frontera (Spanish for 'the border') explores the human implications of the 2000-mile-long wall that runs between six Mexican and four US states through 150 wearable works of art. Pictured, the US-Mexico border wall

(Image credit: press)

Velvet da Vinci is an art-jewellery gallery in the upcoming Polk Street area of San Francisco's Tenderloin district

Velvet da Vinci is an art-jewellery gallery in the upcoming Polk Street area of San Francisco's Tenderloin district

(Image credit: press)

'When Reality Catches Up' Necklace, 2013, by Alix Manon, Belgium.

'When Reality Catches Up' Necklace, 2013, by Alix Manon, Belgium.

(Image credit: the artist)

'Passage to the North' brooch by Judy McCaig

'Passage to the North' brooch by Judy McCaig

(Image credit: press)

'Silent Conversation' brooch, by Ramón Puig Cuyàs, Spain

'Silent Conversation' brooch, by Ramón Puig Cuyàs, Spain

(Image credit: press)

'Green Card' Necklace, 2013, by Mayte Amezcua, Mexico.

'Green Card' Necklace, 2013, by Mayte Amezcua, Mexico.

(Image credit: Paolo Gore)

'Murmullos 1' brooch, 2012, by Alejandra Solar, Mexico.

'Murmullos 1' brooch, 2012, by Alejandra Solar, Mexico. 

(Image credit: the artist)

Neckpiece/collar, 2012 by Tammy Young Eun Kim, Korea/USA.

Neckpiece/collar, 2012 by Tammy Young Eun Kim, Korea/USA. 

(Image credit: Seth Papac)

Necklace, 2013 by Maria Solórzano, Mexico/Argentina.

Necklace, 2013 by Maria Solórzano, Mexico/Argentina.

(Image credit: Paola Lambertini)

'Three Days Walking (Mourning Brooch)' brooch, 2013, by Julia Turner, USA.

'Three Days Walking (Mourning Brooch)' brooch, 2013, by Julia Turner, USA.

(Image credit: the artist)

'Son Necesarias las Fronteras' bracelet, 2013, by Iacov Azubel, Argentina.

'Son Necesarias las Fronteras' bracelet, 2013, by Iacov Azubel, Argentina. 

(Image credit: the artist)

'Milagro, California Red Legged Frog' pendant, 2013 by Thomas Hill

'Milagro, California Red Legged Frog' pendant, 2013 by Thomas Hill

(Image credit: press)

'Landscape II' brooch, 2012 by Beate Eismann, Germany

'Landscape II' brooch, 2012 by Beate Eismann, Germany

(Image credit: press)

'Reconstructed: Framed' brooch, 2012, by Demitra Thomloudis, USA.

'Reconstructed: Framed' brooch, 2012, by Demitra Thomloudis, USA. 

(Image credit: Seth Papac)

'Ribbons Brooch no. 2' by Arturo Borrego

'Ribbons Brooch no. 2' by Arturo Borrego

(Image credit: press)

ADDRESS

2015 Polk Street
San Francisco
CA 94109 

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Caragh McKay is a contributing editor at Wallpaper* and was watches & jewellery director at the magazine between 2011 and 2019. Caragh’s current remit is cross-cultural and her recent stories include the curious tale of how Muhammad Ali met his poetic match in Robert Burns and how a Martin Scorsese Martin film revived a forgotten Osage art.