Like so much contemporary jewelry, the necklaces are large and sculptural. They would probably not be very practical for wear by anyone short or small, but the scale allows artists like Blavarp room to make aesthetic statements. Her pieces fit within the vocabulary of large, wearable art. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day and genus even suggest turtleneck sweaters, or the high neckpieces popular among wealthy women in the early twentieth century. They would also work as framed displays, and operate as well in the realm of sculpture as jewelry.

However, Blavarp's wearable objects d'art are made of wood rather than precious metals. Miss Western's Chang-Chang Necklace further attests to Blavarp's interest in the art of non-Western cultures, as well as a general fascination with folk art. Its red color suggests mid-twentieth century wooden toys, as well as Chinese carved and lacquered artifacts. Its form, crafted of lacquered birch and cocolola musical "keys" strung together, recalls the pectoral necklaces of ancient Egypt. However, its smooth surfaces and elegant craftsmanship are decidedly Scandinavian modern.

Today, artists have the luxury and the right to cull their ideas from many sources, past and present. Blavarp clearly creates with a postmodern vocabulary of multiculturalism and historical appropriation. One handsome piece, named Hatshepsut after the famous Egyptian pharaoh, is a large orange and gold collar made of dyed and lacquered birch wood. Like so many of the pieces, Hatshepsut demonstrates the organic nature of Blavarp's designs and represents her self-conscious historicisms.

The challenge for artists working in this rich world culture is to organize their sources into work that is aesthetically interesting without being too literally borrowed; they must find away to arrange their appropriations into an aesthetic whole. This Blavarp does well. Even with all of her allusions to other cultures and other times, the overwhelming impact upon first viewing her work is that of the contemporary world and of a decidedly Scandinavian design aesthetic. It is only after reflection and deconstruction that the viewer begins to discover all of the sources, which have been integrated into the whole.

Some of Blavarp's pieces also demonstrate another chief characteristic of postmodernism: irony. A compliment to her self-conscious cultural and historical borrowings, the artist's sense of whimsy emerges in the toylike nature of some of the works; necklaces seem to slink and move like carved children's toys, and reference tropical animals, birds, and plants. Some pieces, like her elegant dyed sycamore, painted birch, and gold leaf necklace, would nonetheless be terrific adornment for a beach party. This show aptly illustrates the range of her approaches to the theme of the decorated neckpiece, from wit, to national identity, to historical appropriation.

Susan Isaacs is associate professor of art history at Towson University, Maryland, and consulting curator at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington.

above Necklace, 1993
dyed sycamore and painted birch with gold leaf

below Hatshepsut, 2000
dyed and lacquered birch

Liv Blavarp's retrospective show demonstrates her longtime interest in jewelry, specifically carved wooden neckpieces. Blavarp, who has also taken on large commissions for interior spaces, creates work that is rooted in her native Norwegian tradition, though is influenced by world art, especially that of Africa. Her pieces have the finished and elegant surfaces and workmanship of modern Scandinavian furniture.

An excellent hardback book with text by Marjorie Simon and Gunnar Sorensen accompanies the exhibition, and gives those viewers who might not be familiar with Blavarp's work an overview of the artist's career. While these handsome neckpieces exemplify the Scandinavian tradition offine woodworking, they also allude to a primitive past of elaborately decorated Viking sailing vessels. Beautifully constructed and sophisticated in design, they also demonstrate a love of wooden toys, as well as a knowledge of historical jewelry, especially ancient Egyptian breast plates and more contemporary African neckwear.

Blavarp uses dyes and paints to color her pieces, and often adds exotic materials such as ebony, ivory, and whale tooth for accent. This show also includes several bracelets that relate to the large but elegant neckwear; however, it is her necklaces that constitute the central focus of the exhibition. Her forms are organic and often refer to animals; in at least one instance a piece is designed to look like a coiled snake.