Cara Croninger Artist/Designer 1.8.39 - 3.21.19
The late artist and designer Cara Croninger pioneered acrylic and polyester resin in sculpture and accessories. Her work has earned her the reputation of being one of the most innovative designers in her field. Croninger bridged contemporary art and fashion and became one of the most editorialized jewelry designers at the height of her career. A top-tier artist at life-long friend Robert Lee Morris’s Artwear Gallery in SoHo from the late 1970s through the 1980s, and 1990s, Croninger truly walked the line of the artist as designer. Croninger never left her artistic sensibilities and continued to make sculptures while simultaneously creating accessories of phenomenal depth.
One of her first sculptural exhibits was as a member of the group show Artists Make Toys at MOMA’s PS1 in 1971. She met PS1 founder Alana Heiss when she was accepted as a young resident of the Clocktower art studio project in Tribeca. Many chapters later, after the artist passed away at the age of 80 in 2019, the artist’s sculpture and jewelry were included in ‘The Store,’ a group show at the Aspen Art Museum, which ended on March 28, 2022. In 2021 the AAM presented one of Croninger's small sculptures as the Artist of the Year Award. A significant group of her ‘Racer Bulb’ sculptures was sold, and a portion of the pieces will be donated to the permanent collection of one of the nation's most important museums. ‘The Store’ was curated by artist, independent curator, and wunderkind Jonathan Berger, sparking a revived interest in her jewelry and phenomenal sculptures.
Croninger was born on a farm in rural Michigan in 1939. She moved to Chicago and finally New York in her early twenties, where she took dance classes, modeled for artists, fell in love with actor Otis Young, and continued her self-taught artist journey. Croninger had her first child in 1962. She began creating one-of-a-kind jewelry and hand-stitched leather accessories circa 1971 after giving up on survival jobs and a distracted partner. She realized jewelry making could be a smart way to monetize her art and support raising her two daughters. The success of this decision would carry her through the highs and lows of living and working in Tribeca, Gowanus, and DUMBO, which at the time were affordable artist live/work areas. The last chapter of her live/work adventure would be in the Garnerville Arts Center near Nyack. The Artwear years were significant in pairing Croninger’s jewelry with designers Geoffrey Beene and Kansai Yamamoto for runway shows, triggering her popularity with fashion editors and collectors, including Zaha Hadid and Isabella Rossellini. Croninger influenced a small army of artists and designers, including Alexis Betar.
Collectors worldwide recognize her mastery to shape resin into precious luminous jewels, giving it a heft and value that few could achieve. Her ethnic-futurist sculpture-as-baubles emerged out of the in-your-face esthetic of the Pop Art era as she created bolts of unique, vivid color never before possible with enameling or Bakelite. The abstract sculptural shapes of her pieces were developed into careful compositions that celebrate the creative force of nature, becoming talisman people respond to on a visceral level.
Croninger's trademark pieces include chunky bead necklaces, ‘slice’ earrings in layers of incredible palates, contemporary amulets, gigantic lucite rings, and beloved heart pendants.
Croninger’s work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and boutiques throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Croninger's legacy is currently managed by her eldest daughter, performer, and writer Saudia Young. Young is working on procuring acquisitions, shows, and sales. The Whitney Museum has acquired a significant necklace, and more acquisitions are in negotiation. Jussara Lee offers the work in her retail store in Bellport, New York, Robert Lee Morris sells it on his Website, and a few select venues are on the horizon.
photo: Reyes Melendez