A piece of advice that I’m positive is applicable to every single person on this planet, perhaps the entire universe: Stop hemming and hawing already. Give her a ring. Not a phone call — please don’t do that. She’d much prefer a ring of the sorts that the Metal Museum has on display in its “Rings! 1968-2021” exhibition. And listen, I’m not saying that she needs glitz and glamor; I’m sure she’d settle for the ring that looks like a piece of thin cardboard stapled together in a circle.
Okay, fine, you caught me. That ring is made of gold, not cardboard despite its uncanny resemblance to your favorite recyclable. But who can resist such a unique piece of jewelry? Well, Helen Drutt, the curator of the collection, can’t. That’s for sure.
At a young 91, Drutt is known for a “certain look,” says Brooke Garcia, director of collections and exhibitions at the Metal Museum. “She wears all black so her jewelry really pops.” A Philadelphia gallery owner and patron of the arts, Drutt has quite the collection, some of which you can check out at the Metal Museum — a mere 169 rings, made of all sorts of materials, from the expected gemstones and metals to the unexpected toilet paper rolls and legumes. Some of the rings have movable parts, and one can even double as a Bluetooth speaker. These aren’t your grandmother’s rings.
“She likes to explore these kinds of themes where it’s one type of object so you can see the breadth,” Garcia says. “They’re all wearable. It’s surprising for some of them. But that’s kind of an interesting thing about art jewelry — that it blends the functional and the adornment aspects together. … Rings especially in jewelry have such deep meanings: engagement rings, wedding rings, graduation rings.”
Complementing Drutt’s rings are a selection of rings from the museum’s permanent collection as well as an activity station for families.
“Rings! 1968-2021,” Metal Museum, on display through June 12th.
