"Double Pyramid" earrings

Master metalsmith Daniel Brush is a visionary and idiosyncratic artist. His varied oeuvre, which ranges from paintings and woodcuts to sculpture and jewelry, is distinguished by technical virtuosity and a profound engagement with the inherent qualities and possibilities of the materials he employs. A true polymath, Brush studies historical objects, technical treatises, watchmaking, robotics, Noh Theater, and philosophy, and his creative process is both meditative and rigorous. The inspiration Brush derives from historical works of art lends powerful resonance to his work, which engages in dynamic dialogues with artworks throughout the Museum.


These earrings are Brush’s first works featuring granulation. He describes his technique of applying granules onto granules as unprecedented in the history of granulation, and these constructions of tiny gold granules seem to defy gravity and physics. The earrings exemplify Brush’s astonishing artistry and commitment to communing with his materials. Through tireless experimentation and study, Brush challenges himself to find new possibilities for his media, here 22-karat and 18-karat gold. Of working with gold Brush said, "The more you know gold, the less you know about it…It’s a strangely beguiling, mysterious material. Somedays I see purple halos come off it, and other days it’s just brittle." Brush’s fascination with granulation was sparked by a gold Etruscan bowl that he saw during a childhood visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He recalls being transfixed by the dense patterns of granulation ornamenting its entire surface, describing the bowl as "a magical thing." The Met’s collections include many similar examples of gold granulation, such as an Etruscan gold fibula (31.1.11). Brush’s exquisite work in gold granulation references historical objects while pioneering new approaches and an inventive artistic language.