The Book Sale: Charon Kransen Arts at the Symposium
Every year Charon Kransen packs dozens of books and treks across the country from New York to Seattle. What he unpacks here is not what you will find in a standard book shop, but an amazing collection of jewelry specific publications from around the globe. Exhibition catalogues from Munich, Legnica, Athens, Seoul and Padua. Monographs long out of print. Technical books that never had a wide American printing. Most of these titles have no US distribution at all. If you want them, Charon is how you get them.
This year he is bringing the Marzee and Schmuck 2026 catalogues, fresh from Munich in March, along with the following new books:
Robert Baines: Plenitude. Baines is a goldsmith whose research into archaeometallurgy runs straight into his studio work, connecting ancient Greek and Etruscan technique with contemporary invention. Wry, technically extraordinary, and far more than a survey. 380 pages, 367 illustrations. $115
Constellations: Contemporary Jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art. Newly published alongside the exhibition of the Deedie Rose collection, more than a thousand pieces with another five hundred to come, including the Inge Asenbaum collection from Vienna. Full colour plates and several essays. 454 pages. $75
Among Friends: American and German Jewelry Artists from the Drutt Collection. Sixty years of parallel development in two countries, and the influences that ran between them. 240 pages, 200 illustrations. $65
Chainmaking for Jewelers by Matthieu Cheminée. Instructions for more than a hundred chains, simple to complex, in more than 2,000 colour photographs. Charon says it is his best seller, and with a few tools and basic skills it puts all of it within reach. 540 pages. $75
Charon’s collection at the Broadway Performance Hall during one of our events
This is just a handful of what you'll find on Charon's table. Dozens more will be on view and available to buy on the day, so plan to spend some time at the Book Sale.
Kransen has worked in contemporary jewelry since 1969. Trained in Jerusalem, Pforzheim and Norway, he taught jewelry and enamel design in the Netherlands and served as president of the Dutch jewelry designers' organization before moving to New York in 1988. He founded Charon Kransen Arts in 1993 and now represents roughly 150 international artists in North America as curator, dealer and agent, showing their work at fairs and in curated gallery and museum exhibitions. He has juried Talente Munich, Athens Jewelry Week, Joya Barcelona and Gioielli in Fermento. His book list runs to 172 pages and more than 2,000 titles.
He is also a longstanding member of the Seattle Metals Guild, and he makes the trip out to us year after year with the collection in tow. We are lucky to have him with us once again in 2026.
The full list is a free download at charonkransenarts.com under Books, where you will also find a shorter list of recent publications and his contact details. Browse before you come, or arrive ready to be inspired by something or someone you have not yet heard of....
The Northwest Jewelry & Metals Symposium takes place on October 10 at Broadway Performance Hall. Bring a bag. These books are special, and you will not want to leave them behind! 1: https://www.symposium.seattlemetalsguild.org
