You couldn’t miss the huge chrome can opener on a high shelf at the auction house. Or even the bigger wire whisk attached to the wall next to it.
Were they art? Or kitchen utensils gone wild?
They were actually art pieces destined for the auction house’s upcoming Modern Design sale, which was held yesterday. The two pieces were mixed in among snazzy furniture, vases, artwork and wall sculptures from some named artists. Now perched closer to eye-view on a tabletop, the can opener didn’t look so big, but the whisk was still on the wall, too big for any bowl I’ve seen. The can opener was 2 feet, 5 inches tall, and the whisk was nearly 5 feet tall and more than a foot wide. (Click on photo above for a larger view.)
I checked the auction sheets to see who made these things. And a designer’s name showed up that I had seen before: Curtis Jere. A couple months ago, a similar name had appeared on auction sheets in another Modern Design sales – a lovely brass eagle in flight, simply done but impressive. It was similar to two pieces hanging on the wall at yesterday’s sale.
This time, the sheet identified the pieces as both Curtis Jere and C. Jere, and they were the same.
C. Jere is the design name for a company called Artisan House, which was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles by Jerry Fels and Kurt Freiler, according to the company’s website. Artisan House makes hand-crafted metal sculptures for walls, tables and floors. It boasts of having 350 designs at any given time, and introduces 80 new ones each year. Now based in Burbank, CA, the original designs are created by master artists and reproduced by crafts people, according to the company. All are dated and signed.
Its most well-known design is said to be the Raindrops style.
I wasn’t around when the pieces sold so I’m not sure how much they went for. My research indicated that they are becoming popular. On eBay, they were listed for $20 to $4,000. Many did not sell, and the sale prices were all over the place. The highest price paid was $2,400 and the lowest, $24.99.
The company appears to be pretty eclectic in its designs. Everywhere I turned at the auction house, I bumped into a C. Jere piece – either on the walls or on the tables (I don’t recall seeing anything on the floor). On one wall was a grouping of wall sculptures. While browsing the auction sheets, I came across pieces that I had missed in my walkthrough of the auction house: a metal tic tac toe sculpture, a pair of copper bookends, a boy on a barrel.
Here’s a sampling of the items on display, with descriptions from the auction sheets:
Birds in flight
Just thought you’d like to know, I have an original of the blacksmith shop and it is indeed by Curtis Jere (as you know that is really a made-up name combination of two men’s names). Mine is identical to yours, so I’m sure yours is authentic. Mine has the signature on the back wall below the two hoops. I do not know why yours would not be signed unless it was a factory second or something.
I also have the Blacksmith shop and it to is signed. I have no idea of it’s worth. But it is beautiful!!