As part of our ongoing showcase of contemporary crafts, the Modern Art Oxford shop presents Vicki Ambery-Smith.
Vicki Ambery-Smith has earned an international reputation for her unique style of jewellery and silverware based on her interpretations of architecture. Growing up in Oxford provided her with inspiration that has developed over 35 years into a theme that draws on buildings as diverse as Ancient Greece, contemporary Europe and America. Many of the pieces on show in the Modern Art Oxford Shop are inspired by the extraordinary buildings in the city of Oxford.
Vicki attended a foundation course in Oxford in 1973, followed by a three year jewellery design course at Hornsey Art College including a one semester exchange to the Fachhochschule in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany. After working as a designer for a manufacturing jeweller, she was awarded a grant from the Crafts Council to set up her own workshop in 1977. Her first exhibition was at the Oxford Gallery and since then she has exhibited widely and has had pieces selected for public and private collections, including the V&A Museum, Royal Scottish Museum, East Midlands Arts, Houston University, Texas and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.