معرفی
Tzu-Ju Chen is a part-time lecturer at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, where she teaches metalsmithing and jewelry design. Originally from Taiwan, she is a jeweler whose work explores reconciliation between tradition, cultural identity, and contemporary practice through techniques like Kingfisher bird feather inlay and Plique-à-jour enamel.
- Education: BFA in Jewelry & Light Metals from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), MFA in Metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and European Honors Program in Rome.
Her research focuses on blending ancient jewelry-making traditions with modern materials and concepts, such as transforming ceremonial currency into mourning artifacts and juxtaposing hot glue with silver to challenge material hierarchies. Her work interrogates rituals of adornment, cultural displacement, and the emotional resonance of objects.
Exhibitions: Chen has exhibited internationally, including at MAD About Jewelry (2022), the Chinese European Art Center (2007), and the Van Reekum Museum. She also maintains a curatorial role as Research Associate for Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
- Awards: Fulbright Fellowship, Robert C. Larson Venture Award, DeSalle Merit Scholarship, and multiple honors from organizations like the Society of North American Goldsmiths.
