Kenon Jeffers | What Was Lost

Artist: Kenon Jeffers, Washington
Materials: steel, 18k gold, sterling silver, mozambique garnet
Size: 10 1/2

Artist Statement: This statement ring is constructed from nearly 100% recycled materials. While the steel is not explicitly recycled, it is a highly recycled material in general. The other materials including the 18k gold solder are all 100% recycled and sourced from Stuller. It combines forged and filed steel components with 18k gold fused to the surfaces and hand shaped sterling silver forms. Atop the ring sits an AA quality Mozambique garnet in a hand made 18k gold bezel. The negative space, implied line, and combination of organic motion and fused metal alongside strong geometry and forms creates a ring full of interest, motion, and a presence full of untold history.

This ring is part of a 2 item set with the second item in progress. I request that the purchaser, if this item sells, lends it back to me for a show in June to be displayed alongside its partner piece.

Artist Bio: My name is Kenon and I am a blacksmith and jeweler based out of North Bend, WA currently. I specialize in steel and fused precious metal jewelry. My work serves as a medium through which I explore the perception of time, and process the feelings of time wasted or lost; the fear of failure and the pursuit of perfection; of grief and loss; dissociation — derealization and depersonalization; and of ultimately, time as our most precious resource. As such, my practice explores the importance and fragility of each moment, the preciousness cultivated within experiences, and the impact our perceptions have on our notions of time.

In my pieces I employ brutalistic elements — blocky forms, rigid structure, and clean geometry — in contrast with nebulous organic forms of fused precious metals, carved abstract stonework, and implied line and negative space. These design choices reflect the duality of time; its structured and linear nature that perpetuates with certainty, and the ambiguous and chaotic aspects of an ever changing and unknowable future, coalescing into an incomplete whole crafted from many parts. I thus create jewelry and sculpture that exist in a state of sustained harmonic opposition representative of the multitude of parts and experiences that constitute life.

This ring was part of Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2023, an online exhibition and competition. View the entire collection HERE, view the matches HERE, and learn more HERE.