Mid-century Metal Wall Art by C. Jere'
A mid-century metal wall sculpture created and signed by “Curtis Jere' ”, 1977, offered by Snowdrift Antiques.
C. Jeré (or Curtis Jere, often seen without the accent) is a metalwork company known for wall sculptures and household accessories. C. Jeré works range from representational to highly abstract, and are made and marketed by the corporation Artisan House.
Curtis Jeré is a compound nom de plume of founding artists Curtis Freiler and Jerry Fels, who combined parts of their own names to create the C. Jeré signature.
According to Modernism magazine, which interviewed Jerry Fels shortly before his death in October 2008, the company was founded in 1963 by Fels and his brother-in-law Curtis (Kurt) Freiler. Freiler was the production chief and Fels was head of design. Their goal was to produce "gallery-quality art for the masses." Prior to the establishment of Artisan House, the partners built a costume jewelry business, selling work under the names Renoir and Matisse, which employed around 300 people at one point. Kurt and Jerry sold Artisan House in 1972. Kurt Freiler died July 22, 2013, at the age of 103.
In a two-page article on the history of C. Jeré for the November 2010 issue of Elle Decor, Mitchell Owens wrote that, after launching in 1964, C. Jeré sculptures were "distributed by Raymor, a cutting edge studio in New York City, and retailed at Gump's in San Francisco and other high quality emporiums. Under Freiler's meticulous direction, the workers—a number of whom were minorities or handicapped—sheared, crimped, torched, and welded brass, copper, and other metals before coating them with luminous patinas…Today those pieces are attracting the admiration of leading dealers in vintage chic."
This piece is classic Jere’ with its light and airy style. It is known as “Elm Tree”. It features clusters of branches and elm leaves diverging from a central trunk. Again, it is classic Jere’ with its brass, copper and steel metals. A single leaf is signed “© C. Jere 1973” on the bottom right set of leaves.
This piece is in excellent vintage condition. There is no tarnish or pitting. There may be a couple of repairs to a leaf cluster, but all of the leaves are present and attached.
This piece measures 52 inches tall by 18 ½ wide and stands out from the wall with a depth of about 4 inches. It has metal loops integrated into the tree trunk for easy hanging.
It can be seen and purchased at ...The Antique Exchange
1500 South Broadway
Denver, CO
Local delivery or pickup in Denver, CO is available. There is no shipping on this one.
Questions about or to purchase, contact me at... snowdriftantiques@gmail.com
