Qianwen Lu
China-born, America-trained artist Qianwen Lu utilizes traditional techniques and
digital technology to create kinetic jewelry that engages the wearer in a dynamic,
ever-evolving relationship with the artist. Qianwen has earned a number of awards
and scholarships, including the top award in 2019 The June Herman Designer/
Creator Scholarship that is supported by Women’s Jewelry Association, and she
was a finalist in the 2020 Saul Bell Design Award in the Emerging Jewelry Artist 22
Years of Age and Under category. Her work was exhibited in Mulan: New Age
Chinese Art Jewelry during New York City Jewelry Week 2019, and in the Growth
& Evolution International Jewellery Exhibition in Kunming, China, in 2020.
digital technology to create kinetic jewelry that engages the wearer in a dynamic,
ever-evolving relationship with the artist. Qianwen has earned a number of awards
and scholarships, including the top award in 2019 The June Herman Designer/
Creator Scholarship that is supported by Women’s Jewelry Association, and she
was a finalist in the 2020 Saul Bell Design Award in the Emerging Jewelry Artist 22
Years of Age and Under category. Her work was exhibited in Mulan: New Age
Chinese Art Jewelry during New York City Jewelry Week 2019, and in the Growth
& Evolution International Jewellery Exhibition in Kunming, China, in 2020.
Artist Statement
In my most recent work, I am exploring the use of ferrofluid as a medium for
jewelry. I intend to create unique living “gemstones†that move with the wearer. I
try to mimic textures of gemstones by creating different patterns of ferrofluid using
magnetic forces and kinetic mechanisms.
Through my creative process, I bond with the material that drives the texture,
sublimates the form, and animates the body. I incorporate CNC cut acrylic
facets, 3D printed components, different types of glass, and various kinetic
mechanisms to achieve effects that are playful and experimental. I imagine my
work and the wearer becoming one, and the whole vessel becoming a new form
of art.
In exploring this concept, I noticed that I have no control of the contained creatures
inside my pieces, as they evolve every time they are worn. EFH1 ferrofluid
will only keep its kinetic properties for a year, and over that lifetime, my “gemstonesâ€
are guiding the wearer to an uncertain future. On the other hand, I am
challenging the autonomy of my pieces in relationship with the body. The contained
creature comes to life when it is in contact with the human body, as each
of our unconscious and unexpected moves change the form and the “spirit†of a
jewelry piece. Through this creature’s short life, the wearer finds appreciation for
the time that remains.
jewelry. I intend to create unique living “gemstones†that move with the wearer. I
try to mimic textures of gemstones by creating different patterns of ferrofluid using
magnetic forces and kinetic mechanisms.
Through my creative process, I bond with the material that drives the texture,
sublimates the form, and animates the body. I incorporate CNC cut acrylic
facets, 3D printed components, different types of glass, and various kinetic
mechanisms to achieve effects that are playful and experimental. I imagine my
work and the wearer becoming one, and the whole vessel becoming a new form
of art.
In exploring this concept, I noticed that I have no control of the contained creatures
inside my pieces, as they evolve every time they are worn. EFH1 ferrofluid
will only keep its kinetic properties for a year, and over that lifetime, my “gemstonesâ€
are guiding the wearer to an uncertain future. On the other hand, I am
challenging the autonomy of my pieces in relationship with the body. The contained
creature comes to life when it is in contact with the human body, as each
of our unconscious and unexpected moves change the form and the “spirit†of a
jewelry piece. Through this creature’s short life, the wearer finds appreciation for
the time that remains.