Fingers

Fingers is a contemporary jewellery gallery in Auckland, New Zealand, established in 1974 by jewellers Alan Preston, Ruth Baird, Roy Mason, Margaret Philips, and Michael Ayling. It was created as a cooperative shop through which jewellers could sell directly to the public, exchange techniques and ideas, and establish a visible focal point for contemporary jewellery in New Zealand. The name reflected the founders’ early concentration on ring-making. The gallery emerged from the country’s developing craft and artist-led cooperative culture. Before founding Fingers, Alan Preston had worked as a Guest Artist at Brown’s Mill Market, regarded as New Zealand’s first craft cooperative. The founding model combined retail activity with independent studio practice: each member helped staff the shop for one day a week while spending the remainder of the week developing their own jewellery. In its early period, Fingers had a particularly strong silversmithing orientation and also established a silversmithing school called Lapis Lazuli. Rather than functioning only as a conventional jewellery retailer, Fingers used exhibitions to test ideas about materials, design, value, and the status of jewellery as an art form. Notable early projects included Guaranteed Trash in 1978, which engaged with punk aesthetics; the Bone exhibition in 1981, in which 24 jewellers contributed works made from bone; and Paua Dreams, also in 1981. Paua Dreams sought to reposition paua shell, a material strongly associated with mass-produced tourist souvenirs, as a serious medium for contemporary jewellery. A substantial portion of the Bone exhibition was lost during a robbery on 29 April 1981. By the mid-1980s, museums and public galleries in New Zealand had begun acquiring jewellery shown at Fingers. This helped reinforce the gallery’s role as an institution within the country’s craft and design ecology rather than merely a shop. Fingers moved to its current Kitchener Street premises in 1987, opposite the Auckland Art Gallery. The new interior, designed by Humphrey Ikin, used freestanding glass-sided cabinets and a counter to give the venue the character of an expanded gallery. The move also coincided with efforts to preserve access to more moderately priced jewellery, including the 1988 group exhibition $100 Under. Fingers has presented the work of many New Zealand jewellers and has also represented artists from Australia and Europe. Its associated membership has changed over time, but founding members Alan Preston, Ruth Baird, and Roy Mason remained connected with the cooperative decades after its creation. Members and former members have included Michael Guy, Alex McNeill, Daniel Clasby, Chaia Fein, Michael Couper, Warwick Freeman, Nick Charlton, Eléna Gee, Paul Annear, and Andrea Daly. The gallery marked its fortieth anniversary in 2014 with an exhibition at Objectspace in Auckland and a publication documenting four decades of Fingers jewellery. Across its history, the institution has combined accessible retail, experimental exhibitions, artist cooperation, and advocacy for contemporary jewellery as a significant area of New Zealand creative practice. Its present-day public profile is rooted in that long-running role as a specialist gallery for studio jewellery, with a primary emphasis on New Zealand makers and additional international participation.

Fingers was founded in Auckland in 1974 by jewellers Alan Preston, Ruth Baird, Roy Mason, Margaret Philips, and Michael Ayling. The cooperative grew out of New Zealand’s artist-led craft movement and was intended to give jewellers a direct route to the public while creating a place for professional exchange. Each member took responsibility for staffing the shop for one day each week and otherwise worked independently in the studio. The name Fingers was selected because all of the founding jewellers were making rings at the time. The original operation combined shopkeeping, production, education, and exhibition-making. Fingers developed a strong early identity around silversmithing and established Lapis Lazuli, a silversmithing school associated with the group. Its exhibitions treated jewellery as a field for material and cultural experimentation. Guaranteed Trash in 1978 responded to the visual language and anti-establishment energy of punk. The Bone exhibition in 1981 brought together 24 jewellers working with bone, although much of the exhibition was lost in a robbery on 29 April. Paua Dreams, held in the same year, involved the six Fingers members and eight invited jewellers and attempted to move paua shell away from its common association with mass-produced tourist souvenirs. During the 1980s, the gallery’s institutional importance increased as New Zealand museums and public galleries began purchasing works shown at Fingers. This development helped establish contemporary jewellery as a collectible and museum-worthy area of New Zealand craft practice. In 1987, Fingers moved to premises on Kitchener Street opposite the Auckland Art Gallery. Humphrey Ikin designed the interior, including freestanding glass-sided cabinets and a counter that gave the venue a more distinctly gallery-like presence. The cooperative nevertheless continued to emphasize access to jewellery at different price levels. Its 1988 exhibition $100 Under directly addressed the availability of more affordable work. The membership changed as artists joined, departed, and in some cases returned. Alongside the founders, the gallery’s historical members included Michael Guy, Alex McNeill, Daniel Clasby, Chaia Fein, Michael Couper, Warwick Freeman, Nick Charlton, Eléna Gee, Paul Annear, and Andrea Daly. The programme remained primarily focused on New Zealand jewellers while also including international artists, especially from Australia and Europe. Fingers celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2014 through an exhibition at Objectspace and a publication by Damian Skinner and Finn McCahon-Jones. The anniversary activities presented the gallery as one of New Zealand’s longest-running contemporary jewellery institutions and one of the world’s longest-running spaces dedicated to contemporary jewellery. Its historical significance rests on the continuity of its cooperative model, its role in promoting New Zealand jewellers, and its use of exhibitions to broaden public understanding of jewellery as both wearable design and contemporary art.

• 2014

  Fortieth anniversary

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  Fingers commemorates four decades with an Objectspace exhibition and a publication on its history.

• 1988

  $100 Under exhibition

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  The group exhibition reinforces the cooperative’s commitment to offering accessible jewellery alongside more ambitious gallery presentations.

• 1987

  Move to Kitchener Street

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  Fingers relocates opposite the Auckland Art Gallery to premises designed to emphasize its role as a gallery.

• 1981

  Bone exhibition and robbery

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  Twenty-four jewellers contribute bone works; much of the exhibition is subsequently stolen on 29 April.

• 1981

  Paua Dreams

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  Fingers members and invited jewellers explore paua shell as a contemporary jewellery material rather than solely as a tourist souvenir medium.

• 1978

  Guaranteed Trash exhibition

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  The exhibition responds to punk aesthetics and demonstrates Fingers’ interest in contemporary cultural themes.

• 1974

  Fingers is founded in Auckland

  [1]Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org

  Alan Preston, Ruth Baird, Roy Mason, Margaret Philips, and Michael Ayling establish the jewellery cooperative and shop on Lorne Street.

A long-running artist-led contemporary jewellery gallery that connects public-facing retail with experimental exhibitions and the development of New Zealand studio jewellery.

• Gallery retail and exhibitions · 1974

  Contemporary studio jewellery

  Fingers presents wearable works by studio jewellers, with an emphasis on original design, material experimentation, and the relationship between jewellery and contemporary art. The programme has historically included New Zealand makers as well as selected artists from Australia and Europe.

• Jewellery medium · 1974

  Silversmithing

  Silversmithing was a major focus of Fingers during its early years and remains part of the gallery’s historical identity. The cooperative also supported silversmithing education through the associated Lapis Lazuli school.

• Material-led jewellery · 1981

  Paua shell jewellery

  Paua shell has featured in Fingers’ efforts to demonstrate that a material associated with tourist souvenirs could support sophisticated contemporary jewellery. The 1981 Paua Dreams exhibition was a significant early example of this approach.

• 2014Fingers 40th anniversary programme

  New Zealand

  A fortieth-anniversary exhibition at Objectspace was paired with a publication documenting four decades of Fingers jewellery.

  Outcome. The programme consolidated the gallery’s historical position within New Zealand contemporary jewellery.

  Source
• 1988$100 Under

  New Zealand

  A group exhibition organized to demonstrate that the gallery’s expanded institutional ambitions did not eliminate access to lower-priced jewellery.

  Outcome. It reaffirmed Fingers’ commitment to combining gallery presentation with accessible retail.

  Source
• 1981Paua Dreams

  New Zealand

  An exhibition involving Fingers members and invited jewellers that explored the artistic potential of paua shell and challenged its narrow tourist-souvenir reputation.

  Outcome. The exhibition contributed to the gallery’s broader programme of material and cultural experimentation.

  Source

• 1987

  Relocation to a dedicated gallery-style premisesStrategy

  Background

  Fingers had developed from a cooperative jewellery shop into a recognized exhibition venue whose work was attracting museum and gallery acquisitions.

  Action taken

  The cooperative moved to Kitchener Street opposite the Auckland Art Gallery and adopted an interior designed to express a stronger gallery identity.

  Aftermath

  The move marked an expansion of the institution’s ambitions while retaining its retail and cooperative foundations.

  Source

1. 1Fingers (gallery)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fingers: Jewellery for Aotearoa New Zealand: 40 Years of Fingers Jewellery Galleryobjectspace.org.nz