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Shop Talk
Jewelry
and More
Luke & Eloy Gallery
5169 Butler St.
Pittsburgh,
PA
15201
412-784-1919
lukeandeloy.ning.com
From the time she was very
young, Brigitte Martin©, a
jeweler and the owner of Luke
& Eloy Gallery in Pittsburgh,
has been surrounded by art.
While growing up in Cologne,
West Germany, she traveled
with her parents throughout
Europe, where they spent
hours visiting museums and
castles. It was this love of art
combined with a fascination
for how pieces are formed that
led to Martin’s subsequent ap-
prenticeship with a German
master goldsmith. In Septem-
ber 2008 Martin, who moved
to the
U .S.
with her American
husband in 1994, opened Luke
& Eloy (named for the patron
saint of fine artists and the pa-
tron saint of mctalsmiths, re-
spectively), which displays not
just jewelry, but other media
as well, including ceramics,
such as Laurajean McLaughlin’s
016 american craft apr/mayio
Night R iderQ ,
fiber, wood and
photography.
Why did you open a gallery?
Being a jewelry maker myself,
I enjoy interacting with artists,
their creations, and customers
who appreciate them. It’s won-
derful to see a customer find
the perfect piece. My goal is to
make craft accessible. By show-
ing interesting work in an unin-
timidating environment, I’m
able to foster appreciation of
jewelry as an art form that is
meant to be experienced.
What challenges do you encoun-
ter being both a gallery owner
and a jewelry artist?
It is sometimes hard to balance
the two-they often seem to be
at opposite ends of the creative
spectrum. With the gallery I
focus on others’ needs first be-
fore I allow myself to sit down
and do my own thing in the
©
studio. On the plus side, I get
a lot of direct feedback from
customers and artists. That is
very valuable and certainly
beats sitting by myself in my
studio all day.
How would you describe the
arts scene in Pittsburgh?
Given Pittsburgh’s relatively
small size and industrial back-
ground, out-of-towners are
always astounded to encounter
a thoroughly modem city with
an incredibly vibrant and diverse
art and craft scene. Many visi-
tors to Luke & Eloy have com-
mented that they are absolutely
blown away by the many cul-
tural offerings and the quality
of the various shows and insti-
tutions we have.
What is some of the new and
exciting work you’re seeing?
I’m a big fan of students’ and
recent graduates’ work and the
fresh approaches they take. I’m
particularly fond of work that
incorporates unexpected media
combinations or that surprises
me with ingenious ideas and
technical finesse. Vincent Pon-
tillo, Loring T aoka and Anthony
Tammaro are among my favor-
ite artists right now, but I also
love what comes from Europe.
I am proud to be the first
U .S.
gallery showing English artist
Charlotte Daffern’s “Acid
Housewife Collection” this
coming fall.
Do you wear much jewelry?
I wear pieces that have a humor-
ous component, incorporate
unusual materials or have a mes-
sage imbedded. M y favorites
right now are made from plastic:
one is a pink cake-mixer brooch
laser-cut from Plexiglas by Ar-
thur Hash© ; the other is a Lego
bracelet by emiko oye©. I’ve
gotten a lot of mileage out of
these works. Interesting jew -
elry makes for great dinner
conversation.—
s .s.
©
KY / Paducah
National Quilt Museum
Imagine Hope
Apr. 9-M ay 25
quiltmuseum.org
Hollis Chatelain’s monochro-
matic textile pieces address key
social and environmental issues
facing our world today.
LA / Lafayette
Paul and Lulu Hilliard
University A rt Museum
Turning IVood Into Art:
The Jane and Arthur Mason
Collection
May 15-Dec. 4
museum.louisiana.edu
Influential artists of the 1960s
as well as the next major group
of turners to emerge are among
the 40 artists featured in this
touring exhibition.
MA / Boston
Seaport W orld Trade Center
CraftBoston
Apr. 9-11
craftboston.org
The Society of Arts and Crafts’
must-see show features out-
standing work handmade for
your life and wallet.
© M T / Helena
Holter Museum of Art
Marie IVatt: Forgot-Me-Not
to Apr. 25
holtermuseum.org
Embroidered portraits, such
as
Democracy is Merry (Demo
-
kratie ist lustig)
honor lives lost
in the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars.
Brigitte M artin portrait David A lbrech t/W att photo Adam Mclsaac.
