“I see jewelry as not merely a body adornment, but also the active art form that can invade the viewer and wearer quietly. I enjoy its hidden power so much.” 

-Masako Onodera, interview on nomadicfantasia.com

Visiting artist Masako Onodera discovered the personality and potential of metalwork after a career in landscape architecture, furniture design, and glass blowing. She recalls “I was naturally drawn to metal because of the tranquility of the process and its strength, which was totally opposite from glass. I began to see the personality of each material and its processes carefully.” Onodera aims to render physical and emotional memories of the everyday in wearable objects.

The Ann Orr Morris Memorial Fund, in partnership with ATHICA, presents a public lecture by Onodera at 5:30 pm in Room S151 of the Main Building of the Lamar Dodd School of Art on 270 River Road. The lecture is free and open the public. 

Onodera's visit coincides with an exhibition of her work in tandem with Associate Professor of Jewelry and Metalwork Mary Hallam Pearse titled Onodera & Pearse: Contrasts and Correlations, on view from January 13 - February 11, 2024 at ATHICA. The two artists “share backgrounds in craft while embracing sculptural applications of metal, paper, gravity, and motion.” Learn more about the exhibition below.

Masako Onodera. Eruption Necklace, 57” x 7”x 4”. Wool, plastic grape, brass.

Onodera & Pearse: Contrasts and Correlations Exhibition Statement

Onodera & Pearse: Contrasts and Correlations features the work of two artists who share backgrounds in craft while embracing sculptural applications of metal, paper, gravity, and motion. Brought together in exhibition by curator and Lamar Dodd School of Art BFA alumna Lauren Fancher, the two women were already known to each other through the craft community.  Fancher states that “I have been a fan of fellow Athenian Mary Pearse’s work as an artist, curator, and educator, and followed closely the development of her magnum opus, Full Bloom, harboring a secret aspiration for this intricate and epic sculpture of lead blossoms to be presented at ATHICA. After I encountered Masako Onodera and her delicate, mysterious, and grave work at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, I proposed that the three of us develop this exhibition, which positions Full Bloom beside pieces from Onodera’s Vestiges and Phantoms series, among other works. Both of these masterful artists demonstrate an acute conceptual depth while using materials that align and echo with layers of meaning.” Of particular import are their mutual use of non-traditional materials to both play homage to and critique the gilt and silver domestic accoutrements of women. Heavy is light and light is heavy in this thoughtful and subversive exhibition.

Masako Onodera. Ghost, 7’ x 8’ x ½’.  Washi paper, ink, thread, piano wire.

About the Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture Series

The Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture Series has brought over 80 distinguished guests to the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia since 2002. Visiting Artists and Scholars spend three days on campus interacting with students and faculty, the culmination of which is a public lecture on the subject of the artist’s or scholar’s work.

About the Ann Orr Morris Memorial Lecture Series

The Ann Orr Morris Memorial Fund was established in 1988 by Martha Odum and the friends and family of Ann Orr Morris. Since then, the Ann Orr Morris Fund has enriched the jewelry and metalwork program of the Lamar Dodd School of Art with resources for annual lectures and workshops by nationally recognized leaders in the field of jewelry and metals.

Artist bio

Masako Onodera utilizes craft techniques in her art and connects the audience emotionally to the materials and practices employed. Her creations suggest an experience of the body altered by the tactile and visual characteristics of the object. 

Onodera’s art is exhibited nationally and internationally in curated and juried exhibitions and is included in many private and public collections such as Toledo Museum of Art in OH, Mint Museum in NC, and Racine Art Museum in WI. She is the recipient of the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and a Mid-career Educational Endowment Scholarship from the Society of North American Goldsmiths. Her work is published in journals and books, such as Metalsmith Magazine, the Art Jewelry Today, the Lark 500 series, and ACTIVA from Design Deffusion Edizioni, Milan, Italy. She graduated with an MFA in Metals from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and currently is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, WI.