Heather White
Chair, Professor, 3D Arts 3D Arts Minor Coordinator, 3D Arts Professor, Jewelry and Metalsmithing
- email hwhite@massart.edu
- phone 617-879-7492
-
education
- MFA, State University of New York, The College at New Paltz
- BFA, Rhode Island School of Design
Heather White is a studio jeweler, metalsmith, and educator curator whose wearable objects explore beauty and imperfection as corporeal expression. Her ideas of adornment challenge thresholds of traditional lost wax casting inviting unexpected results in the centrifuge, embellishing flaws with enamel, silver and gold.
White’s work is held in museum and private collections throughout the United States, including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She has exhibited nationally and is represented by JewelersWerk Galerie in Washington, DC, and Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Her recent studio practice has expanded to include photography and video alongside jewelry and metalsmithing. During her 2022–2024 sabbatical, White developed Red, White, & Blue Adorned, an ongoing project centered on a sculptural neckpiece and a series of portraits exploring American identity, adornment, and community. The work is featured in MassArt’s 2026 faculty exhibition Spaces of Departure: Selected Works by MassArt Faculty on Sabbatical 2022–2024.
Industry Experience
Selected Exhibitions
- 2026 – Spaces of Departure: Selected Works by MassArt Faculty on Sabbatical 2022–2024, Doran & Arnheim Galleries, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA. Curated by Liz Morlock.
- 2024–2025 – Striking: Silver and Steel, Gallery A2, Artisan’s Asylum, Boston, MA. With Rhea Vedro.
- 2024 – Dandelions: An Exhibition of Jewelers in the Field, Rago x Wright x NYC, New York, NY. Curated by Steven KP.
- 2024 – Open, Closed, Ajar: The Allegorical Locket, Jewelers’Werk Galerie, Washington, DC. Solo exhibition.
- 2018 – Blind Artifacts, Jewelers’Werk Galerie, Washington, DC. Solo exhibition.
- 2018 – Uneasy Beauty: Discomfort in Contemporary Adornment, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA. Curated by Suzanne Ramljak.
- 2017 – Women to Watch, Gallery Kayafas, Boston, MA.
- 2016 – Go for Baroque: Opulence and Excess in Contemporary Art, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI.
Selected Publications
- 2021 – Jewelry Stories: Highlights from the Collection 1947–2019, Museum of Arts and Design / Arnoldsche Art Publishers; Heather White van Stolk discussed in “Precious in Many Ways” by Yevgeniya Kaganovich.
- 2017 – “Contemporary Cameos,” Metalsmith, featuring Heather White van Stolk’s Protean Cameo #10.
- 2011 – 21st Century Jewelry: The Best of the 500 Series, Lark Books, p. 22.
- 2010 – Review of solo exhibition Coltivando con Rosso by Martina Windels, Metalsmith, Summer, Vol. 30, No. 3.
- 2008 – The Compendium Finale of Contemporary Jewellery, Darling Publications, ed. Andy Lim, p. 2233.
- 2006 – “What the Body Knows: The Evolution of Heather White van Stolk,” Metalsmith, Vol. 26, No. 2. Cover image and feature article by Patricia Harris and David Lyon.
- 2005 – The Penland Book of Jewelry: Master Classes in Jewelry Techniques, Lark Books. Cover image and Chapter 5, pp. 98–121.
- 2005 – 500 Brooches, Lark Books, pp. 10, 172; juried by Marjorie Simon.
- 2004 – 1000 Rings, Lark Books, pp. 218, 226, 309; juried by Robert Ebendorf.
Selected Collections
- Museum of Art and Design (MAD Museum) New York City, New York
- Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Collection of Susan Beech, Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
- Daphne Farago Collection, Rotasa Foundation, Mill Valley, California
- Collection of Marion Folk, Samual Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, New York
Selected Honors and Awards
- 2012 – Fulbright Fellowship to research and teach at Alchimia School of Contemporary Jewelry Florence, Italy
- 2009 – Brother Thomas Fellowship, The Boston Foundation
- 2009 – Massachusetts Cultural Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Crafts
- 2007 – Massachusetts College of Art and Design Charlotte Foundation Faculty Fellowship
- 2005 – Massachusetts Cultural Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Crafts
- 2003 – Marion And Jasper Whiting Foundation Award to study in Lappeenranta, Finland
- 2002 – Excellence in Crafts Award, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston MA
Professional Affiliations and Organizations
- SNAG – Society of North American Goldsmiths
- AJF – Art Jewelry Forum
- CAA – College Art Association
