Jaydan Moore believes the past can still live within a new object. That is why the Virginia metalsmith turns secondhand silver trays and platters into modern sculptures.
Artist: The California native grew up in Antioch, where Moore was influenced, in part, by his family’s decades-old business as tombstone makers. Though objects, the tombstones, served as memories and markers of loved ones and their lives. Something that made a lasting impression on Moore.
Another early and key influence was his aunt and uncle, both metal artists. They introduced Moore to metalwork. When Moore got to high school, he was able to take a precollege summer class at California College of the Arts (CCA), where his aunt taught.
“I immediately fell in love with the tools, equipment, and the process of metalsmithing,” he said.
At CCA in Oakland, CA, Moore earned a BFA in jewelry and metal arts. He also worked as a machinist and bench jeweler for a metal production company.
He then headed for graduate school, where he received his MFA and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After that, he had a fellowship and several residencies.
Company/studio: Jaydan Moore Studios is based in Richmond. Where he has lived and worked for six years. His studio is a few miles from his home.
Art & materials: Mainly, large-scale sculptures and wall pieces using second-hand silver-plated platters and trays.
What’s popular: Sculptures ($7,000 to $25,000) and small platter pieces ($3,000 to $12,000).
Other favorites: Utensils ($500 to $2,000). Also intaglio prints ($250 to $1,500). To make the prints, Moore cuts out the plate’s bottom, inks the plate, like an etching and prints it onto paper.
Why found silver: “I am motivated by how we bestow memories to objects and how they change or lose meaning as they are passed down,” said Moore.
Process:
- Collects tarnished silver-plated platters, often with dings and scratches, from second-hand shops, junkyards, and eBay.
- Cuts objects (and their handles) apart and reconfigures the pieces, like a jig-saw puzzle) into new and bigger shapes and forms, often with misshapen edges.
Favorite tools: Jewelers saw and a B-tank torch.
Inspirations:
- Still-life paintings.
- Cornelia Parker, English sculptor and installation artist.
- Tom Sachs, American sculptor.
Special commissions: A large wall piece, made for the dining room of a Miami family. The piece was made mostly from their late mother’s collection of platters.
“The family wanted to keep the pieces, but honor them in a different way,” Moore said.
Recent honors:
- Platter #1 recently went on view at the Museum of Fine Arts-Boston in its English silver collection.
- Platter/Shatter #2 was acquired and is on view at the Dallas Museum of Art.
What’s new & next:
- Working on his second largest platter for the National Gallery of Victoria’s (Melbourne, Australia) Triennial.
- Several sculptural pieces headed to the Cheongju Craft Biennial in South Korea.
- A new work for Design/Miami and Salon Art and Design with Ornamentum Gallery.
Where to buy:
- jaydanmoorecom.
- ornamentumgallery.com in Hudson, NY.
- hodgestaylor.com in Charlotte, NC.
Get social:
Instagram: @jaydan.moore
