A Surreal Soirée: The World of Sam Kramer

“Despite being one of the most influential – and indeed most eccentric – of the American modernist jewelers, Sam Kramer (1913–1964) has received little recognition. His expressive, organic work and surreal workshop, located on West 8th Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, paved the way for other mid-twentieth century metalsmiths, and for many more working today.”

Thankfully, Sam’s time to shine within the storied shelves of jewelry history has come. The book
Sam Kramer: Jeweler on the Edge, by Toni Greenbaum, “investigates Sam Kramer as both a seminal artist and a cult personality. Through lavish color photographs of rarely seen works as well as newly discovered archival material, the story of this unique individual is told against a backdrop of post-Second World War America of the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Mirroring both the existential angst and quirky humor of the Beat Generation, Sam Kramer embodied the iconoclastic spirit of his era.”

And that iconoclastic spirit was captured, quite literally, last week at a SURREAL SOIRÉE thrown to celebrate Greenbaum’s book. Hosted by The Jewelry Library and curated by independent Creative Director and Curator Aida Sulova at Spiral (x,y,z) in Tribeca, the event was just the dose of surrealism we needed. Greenbaum was on hand to sign copies of her book, and Sam Kramer’s grandchildren joined the festivities.

We invite you to relive the evening with us via the photographs by Aida Sulova presented here and snag the book for your library HERE.

Above: Author Toni Greenbaum captured below a picture of Sam Kramer. Below Left: Guests get into a surreal mood. Below Right: Model Mareme wears work by Sam Kramer in front of large-scale replicas of Kramer’s drawings.
Above: Images of Sam Kramer and his studio are surrounded by surreal inspired snacks. Below Left to Right: Work by artist Polina Osipova on view and as interactive photo opps on the mirrors, party guests, the scene before the party opened.
Above: Creative Director and Curator Aida Sulova recreated drawings by Sam Kramer to adorn the event space. Below: party guests embrace the surreal.
Above: A group shot of several guests before the evening closed. Below: Guest of honor author Toni Greenbaum poses with pillows created by Aida Sulova in the likeness of Sam Kramer’s work and a quote from the jeweler describing his jewelry is framed for posterity.

All photography by Aida Sulova. Thank you to Toni Greenbaum, Aida Sulova, The Jewelry Library and Spiral (x,y,z). Event recap edited, compiled, and formatted by JB Jones.