Jewelry as Wearable Sculpture
Shana Kroiz is a sculptor and jewelry designer whose work explores the relationship between form, movement, and the body.
Her work has been exhibited internationally and is included in the permanent collections of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin, the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, and the Lowe Art Museum in Miami.
Working across one-of-a-kind and limited production pieces, Kroiz approaches jewelry as a form of small-scale sculpture, with each work shaped by exceptional materials, bold silhouettes, and its relationship to the person who wears it.
Shaping a Community
Alongside her studio practice, she has spent decades helping expand the visibility and legitimacy of contemporary art jewelry in the United States. After studying at Parsons School of Design and Towson University, she founded and directed the MICA Jewelry Center in Baltimore, later leading the Jewelry Center at the 92nd Street Y in New York while continuing to teach and lecture nationally.
When the MICA Jewelry program closed, Kroiz helped establish the Baltimore Jewelry Center, a nonprofit metalsmithing and jewelry school that has since become nationally recognized within the field. She continues to teach classes and workshops locally and nationally, maintaining an ongoing relationship between studio practice, experimentation, and education.
An Evolving Visual Language
Kroiz’s work has evolved over decades from one-of-a-kind avant-garde art jewelry into a distinctive visual language, balancing collectible sculpture and wearable fine jewelry. Early experimental forms, electroforming, enamels, and bold color palettes gradually developed into the sculptural gold and gemstone pieces that define the collection today.
IN THEIR WORDS