Interview

Artist Orly Genger added jewelry designer to her CV when the experimental line of knitted rope and chain necklaces and cuffs she crafted with her friend Jaclyn Mayer raised them into the pages of high-fashion publications and highly fashionable closets.

Genger started the line for the gift-shop of the Indianapolis Museum of Art where she was showing "Whole," an installation comprising thousands of feet of nylon climbing rope, which Genger hand-knitted, painted black, and stacked into imposing towers. Stylists, editors and fans lined up for the sleek, elegant, cloth and steel or silver chain pieces, which are as far from a mumsy muffler as Genger's monumental hand-knitted sculptures are from dainty craft or heavy and severe traditional sculpture. Now Genger and Mayer are launching a new line on Mayer's website featuring intimate shots of the intricately woven, brilliantly colored pieces. "I think this collection is more thought-out than the first," Genger explains. "We have also begun to see how different weight ropes can play off of each other to enhance the sculptural aspect of the work."

For the new collection, Genger knit a variety of types of rope, including bulky boating rope, the nylon climbing rope that has become her signature medium, and simple shoelaces, into elaborate styles reminiscent of Queen Nefertiti's necklaces. With this new collection of regal rope jewelry, Genger and Mayer are sure to have tied up their fan base even more securely.