BIOGRAPHY:
Photograph courtesy of the artist.
Alan Revere
| Alan Revere grew up in a family with artists and designers where aesthetics and
creativity were highly valued. Revere collected metal as a child: coins, bottle caps,
guns, machine parts, glitter and scraps. At age ten he went with his mother to her jeweler
and has been obsessed with jewelry ever since. He used to help design earrings for her in
platinum, diamonds and rubies. Later Revere studied psychology and art, and received a
Master of Fine Art's Degree in sculpture before studying jewelry design and
goldsmithing in Germany. Alan is recognized as one
of the most influential people in the American jewelry industry. He is
a member of the American Jewelry Design Council and a frequent contributor
to JCK, Professional Jeweler, Lapidary Journal, and AJM magazines.
Revere incorporates diverse precious materials into his work. He aims to adorn with drama and grace while flattering the wearer and intriguing the viewer. Revere devotes a great deal of time creating new designs to add to his line. He employs a variety of methods to facilitate creativity in that direction. Revere says, "I take in a great deal of visual images and I have been inspired by a photo of shoes in a fashion magazine, an architectural doorway and an automobile part." Typically he sketches his ideas first and then systematically refines the concept before making a model. Revere tries to be open to ideas no matter what the source is. He avoids making jewelry that looks like something he has seen before. "There is too much of that out there in the world, and I see no point in making reproducing someone else's work." When Revere evaluates new designs he looks for a good composition where all elements contribute toward creating a result greater than the sum of the parts. If he can remove or add and element of the design without significantly altering it then Revere does not consider the concept complete. Alan Revere is the founder and director of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, Inc., in San Francisco, California. It is a state-approved professional trade school offering two diploma programs. Revere has personally instructed thousands in jewelry techniques and has been a guest lecturer at museums, universities, colleges and art schools across the United States, in Israel, Mexico and in the Republic of China. He has also participated in hundreds of competitions, trade shows and exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Mexico, Holland, Czechoslovakia and Japan. |