Formerly the Ontario Crafts Council, Craft Ontario is a not-for-profit service organization that works to have craft recognized as a valuable part of life. We promote and celebrate professional craft through providing member opportunities, and advocate for craft practice by educating and empowering diverse audiences.
Originally from Hamilton, Alex Kinsley is a contemporary jewellery based in Toronto. His practice creates both traditional jewellery forms, as well as art jewellery for exhibition. Kinsley’s work explores his personal and cultural identity defined by the particular environment of Hamilton, Ontario, where he grew up. His recent work, Iron Identity evokes and commemorates this identity through the use of oxides, coarse finishing, and the use of steel. Alex uses colours associated with industrial machinery and abandoned sites – bright colours that contrast signs of rust and deterioration. Transporting this aesthetic to the body allows it to be worn close, displayed with pride and given reverence as a jewellery object. Rust, corrosion, a sense of neglect, the commemoration of a fading legacy, and the ability to endure are the concepts and visual language he expresses in his work. Underneath the surface oxides and decoration, is something sturdy and comforting, like Hamilton is to Kinsley. Alex studied jewellery at George Brown College, receiving an Adv. Diploma in Jewellery Arts in December 2013. He has shown work in Canada, Europe, and the United States. He holds memberships with Craft Ontario since 2012, Klimt02 since 2017, and was accepted into Harbourfront Centre’s Artist-in-Residence program in 2015.
Alex studied jewellery at George Brown College, receiving an Adv. Diploma in Jewellery Arts in December 2013. He has shown work in Canada, Europe, and the United States. He holds memberships with Craft Ontario since 2012, Klimt02 since 2017, and was accepted into Harbourfront Centre’s Artist-in-Residence program in 2015.
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Steel, spray-paint, 23k Gold, Sterling silver, 8 cm x 2 cm x 1 cm, 2019
Gold für Eisen 04
Steel, Spray-paint, 14k Gold, 2 cm x 2.2 cm x 5 cm, 2018
View from the Pier 01
Steel, Spray-paint, Magnets, Sterling silver, Cotton rope, Steel hardware, 120 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm, 2018
View from the Pier 02
Steel, Spray-paint, Steel hardware, Cotton rope, Sterling silver, 87 cm x 30 cm x 1.5 cm, 2018
View from the Pier 03
Steel, Spray-paint, Steel hardware, Cotton rope, Sterling silver, 87 cm x 30 cm x 1.5 cm, 2018
View from the Pier 04
Steel, Spray-paint, Magnets, Sterling silver, Cotton rope, Steel hardware, 120 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm, 2018
View from the Pier 05
Steel, Spray-paint, Steel hardware, Cotton rope, Sterling silver, 87 cm x 30 cm x 1.5 cm, 2018
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Steel, Spray-paint, Sterling silver, Magnets, Cotton rope, 40 cm x 19 cm x 1 cm, 2019
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Steel, Spray-paint, Sterling silver, Magnets, Cotton rope, 40 cm x 19 cm x 1 cm, 2019
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Steel, Spray-paint, Sterling silver, Magnets, Cotton rope, 35 cm x 20 cm x 1 cm, 2019
Formerly the Ontario Crafts Council, Craft Ontario is a not-for-profit service organization that works to have craft recognized as a valuable part of life. We promote and celebrate professional craft through providing member opportunities, and advocate for craft practice by educating and empowering diverse audiences.