SURREAL WEARABLES BY STUFFSMITH KEITH LO BUESCC Showcases Keith Lo Bue in BRIDGE Exhibition
PITTSBURGH, PA—December 15, 2014—Made from lobsterclaws, hors d’oeuvres forks, antique book bindings, keys, leather,marbles, and more, Keith Lo Bue’s unexpected jewelry stirs up
forgotten memories, and reminds us of the past. Examples of these
distinct pieces, on display as part of the Society for Contemporary
Craft’s biennial Bridge Exhibition Series, are featured in concert withan exhibition of sculptural ceramics by Washington artist, JasonWalker and large scale figures—built from remnants of bedclothes,blankets, pillows, couch cushions, and knit Afghans—by California
artist, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor. The Bridge Exhibition Series
opens with a public reception on Friday, January 23, from 5:30 to 8
pm and continues through August 22, 2015.

Lo Bue, a self-titled “stuffsmith” has left behind traditional
approaches to jewelry making in favor of discovering and working
with found materials. With a soft spot for a good treasure hunt, Lo
Bue is constantly on the lookout for unassuming stuff that will findnew life as jewelry. Interested in exploring the dichotomies thatsurround us—reality and surreality, preservation and decay, memory
and forgetting—Lo Bue pairs dualities in his work. While vintage
objects recall feelings of nostalgia, his fresh style and compositions
seem ahead of their time. Lo Bue's work with found objects, aLife’s Record (for Mira), 2014 Victorian 'pyralin ivory' serving fork, dichroic glass beads,
Mira Lo Bue's baby teeth, resin, sea urchin spines, copper nails, opals, carved wood froma Lo Bue baby crib, waxed linen thread, 19th-century steel keys, 1920's elastic cord,
camera lens and housing, mid-19th-century steel-point engraving and color lithograph,enamel pocket watch face, steel and bronze wire, paint, 16th- & 19th-century paper, text,
soil Pendant: 4 ½” x 2” x 1", Cord/chain: 17½” Photo: Keith Lo Buejourney that has lasted over 25-years, began in 1989 with his firstsolo exhibition entitled Oddments. In the ensuing years, the artist has injected life and personal narrative into countless wearable
works. These sculptural forms have evolved into minute constructed environments, oftentimes viewed through lenses that havebeen called diminutive museums and reliquaries of dreams.

The exhibition features a series of pendants and brooches. With titles such as Life’s Record, Mesmerism, and A Question ofTaste—the works highlight Lo Bue’s thrill of making and spontaneity of instinct. One work from a private collection is thenever before exhibited, The Diary of Antiquary. This wearable book includes elements such as fresh water pearls, unearthed
glass, 19th century book cover fragments, antique ivory, feathers, pressed seaweed, and gold leaf. Exemplifying Lo Bue’s
passion for learning new techniques, the piece includes the first book made completely by his hand. This—Over—Page 2 OF 2 BRIDGE 13—LO BUE
neckpiece acts as a symbol for personal progress and a willing leap forward into the unknown. Lo Bue comments, “The work I
produce has always involved making connections between disparate phenomena. There is a deliberate effort to create inmy artwork a fragile technology of bone and soil exhumed from the scattered shards of lives proceeding our own. In this way I
can strike an empathy with those who reached for the promise of progress with one hand while shielding their fallibility with theother.”

Lo Bue was born in Fairfax, Va. and earned a B.F.A. from the State University of New York at Purchase. In 1999, Lo Bue
moved from the US to Australia. He currently lives and works as a full time maker in Sydney. Lo Bue has taught workshops atdozens of prestigious art and craft schools throughout the US, New Zealand and Australia, including stops at Arrowmont Schoolof Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tenn., and the 92nd Street Y Art Center, New York, N.Y. His art has been recognized and selectedfor exhibitions by curators at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Arts & Design and has
been acquired into renowned public collections including the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pa., and the Renwick Galleryof the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

To complement the Bridge 13 Exhibition Series, educational programs are planned to encourage an exchange of ideas. Visitors
can create a free take away piece from a drop-in studio activity designed by a participating artist. An exhibition brochure
documenting Lo Bue’s solo show includes biographical information, photo-documentation of the artist’s work, and an essay
written by Suzanne Ramljak, Editor of Metalsmith and an art historian specializing in contemporary and 20th-century art andmaterial culture. Bridge 13: Keith Lo Bue, Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor, Jason Walker is made possible by the Allegheny
Regional Asset District, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Elizabeth R. Raphael Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, TedRowland, BNSF Foundation, Ferrin Contemporary, and other generous donors.
Presenting contemporary art in craft media by regional, national and international artists since 1971, the Society forContemporary Craft offers cutting edge exhibitions focusing on multicultural diversity and non-mainstream art, as well as arange of classes, community outreach programs and a retail store. SCC is located at 2100 Smallman Street in the Strip District ofPittsburgh, Pa. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Exhibitions and informal, hands-on art activities in theDrop-In Studio are always free to the public. For more information, visit www.contemporarycraft.org or call 412.261.7003.
###Links
Keith Lo Bue: lobue-art.com

Jason Walker: jasonwalkerceramics.com

Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor: elisabethhigginsoconnor.net

Ferrin Contemporary: ferrincontemporary.com

Please see complete press kit for additional information on programming and events, exhibition technology, and downloadable
high-resolution images.