--- .\  IN THE NEWS

NOW ON VIEW

Mallory Weston .\ at MFA Boston

BOSTON —We are delighted to share that Mallory Weston’s work is now on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as part of the jewelry gallery permanent collection rotation, Beyond Brilliance.

While much of the MFA’s jewelry gallery is on long-term exhibition, one case changes annually—rotated just a few weeks ago—and it’s always worth a visit. This year, Weston’s work is featured alongside artists who push the field forward through innovative material and conceptual approaches.

In this context, Weston’s practice stands out for the way it treats the body as a canvas. Her work transforms the wearer, collector, or viewer into a vital component of its artistic vision—objects that are not merely decorative but alive with meaning when activated on the body.

MALLORY WESTON   .\  Python Hot Pants, 2016. Sterling silver, photo etching on zinc, coral & Venetian glass

"While cutting and sewing may be more at home in a fashion studio than at a metalsmith’s bench, Mallory Weston uses these techniques to create jewelry in the shape of hearts, bows, and smiley faces, reminiscent of the colorful school supplies designed by Lisa Frank that were popular with children and adolescents in the 1980s and 90s. Weston expanded on this work in 2016 with Python Hot Pants—referencing the shortest-of-shorts that originated in the 1960s and became fashionable in the disco days of the 70s, when fashion designers paired them with long maxi coats. In a world that had just come to terms with women wearing pants, these were radical. Weston created her own pair of hot pants—decades after their acceptance into popular culture—that were custom-fitted to herself, mirroring the look of snakeskin with hand-cut metal elements sewn onto leather to create a luminous garment that blurs the lines between fashion and jewelry."  - Emily Stoehrer, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Senior Curator of Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston