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arts monda Art to adorn and admire ART REVIEW ATELIER JANIYE AND THE LEGACY OF MIYE MATSUKATA At: Fuller Craft Museum, 455 OakSt, Brockton, through July 24. 508-588-6000, www.fullercraft.org Fuller Craft traces studio jeweler's work and legacy ByCateMcQuaid GLOBE CORRESPONDENT BROCKTON Miye Matsukata, the progressive jewelry artist, worked in Boston for more than 30 years. Shortly before she died in 1981 of meningitis, she had an exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum. She was not yet 60. Now, 30 years later, "Atelier Janiye and the Legacy of Miye Matsukata" at the Fuller Craft Museum is the first show since then to spotlight her work, says Perry Price, the Fuller's assistant curator.

Matsukata thought of herself as an artist, not a craftswoman. Inspired by abstract expressionism, she made brooch es, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets that were asymmetrical and quirky. She also daringly balanced precious gems and high-carat gold with more ordinary materials, such as beach stones and Egyptian faience. Matsukata was not alone; she was part of MIYE MATSUKATA "Knit Necklace," a delicate rope of metal holding up a translucent triangle of pink quartz. Watkins, Michel, and Yamamoto each bring different spins to a similar framework.

All reference nature. Yamamoto has the most playful eye and hand, and she pushes the definition of low-end materials to the limit with her audacious "Pink Necklace," a strand of pink nylon strung with clusters of white Styrofoam, like mini marshmallows stuck together. Matsukata might never have used Styrofoam, but the 2 1 st century has ushered in a new era. Yamamoto's "Umegaka Ring" in 18k and white gold, is more precious but equally funky, a two-fingered job with a solid arc over the base, holding delicate branches of gold. Then, Yamamoto's "Egyptian Series Djed" seems a fond remembrance of Matsukata's infatuation with Egypt and Egyptian faience.

A djed is an Egyptian pillar that can denote stability. Yamamoto's piece has an Egyptian faience one set in gold, and topped with a circle of gold holding a glossy, semi-precious reddish carnelian stone, like a setting sun. Watkins's works have an elegant architecture, obvious in pieces such as "Architectural Bracelet," a geometric one with right angles and divots, and "Cube Jumble Necklace," a delightfully strung together group of gold cube frames. Michel, meanwhile, edges toward narrative, landscape, and representation although not so much as to impede her gorgeous abstract designs. For instance, her "Lapis Brooch" sports a shard of lapis at the bottom beneath textured gold with a grid rising in relief, studded with lozenges of orange coral; I saw in it a landscape, with farmland edging a lake.

Matsukata's colleagues here share her passion for off-kilter compositions and her democratic approach to materials. None of this work dazzles with sparkly gemstones or baroque formality. It doesn't dazzle at all; rather, it intrigues and entices with its unpredictability and aesthetic daring. "Umegaka Ring" (top) and "Egyptian Series Djed" (above left) are by Yoshiko Yamamoto. "Lapis Brooch" (above right) is by Nancy Wills Michel.

the leading edge of studio jewelers making one-of-a-kind pieces. Boston had and still has a thriving studio jewelry community, fostered by the local art schools and a notable collection at the Museum of Fine Arts. Fresh out of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in the late 1940s, Matsukata and two other jewelers opened Janiye, a jewelry business. Ten years or so later, her partners left, and Matsukata opened Atelier Janiye in Copley Square. There, she worked with artists who shared her aesthetic, including Nancy Wills Michel, Alexandra Solowij Watkins, and Yoshiko Yamamoto.

Each produced Matsukata's designs and their own. Their more contemporary work is on view in the Fuller show. Janiye is still in business on Newbury Street, run by Michel and Watkins. "Atelier Janiye and the Legacy of Miye Matsukata" is a lovely exhibit. Jewelry's scale makes viewing an intimate act I found myself leaning close in to the glass cases to see delicate textures etched on gold, and longing to try on bracelets and brooches.

Many of the works here are on loan from private collectors, who still wear the jewelry. I can see why: The work of each of these four artists is distinctive and original. Matsukata's early pieces here, such as a choker from 1952, are sleek and silver this one's a two-piece hoop with a silver arc attaching in front, swelling like a wave and with cutouts like splashes of water. Jewelers commonly opted for silver over gold in those days; for a young jeweler, it was a cheaper investment. But Matsukata soon started working in gold.

A breathtaking beach stones necklace showcases round black rocks collected from Brimstone Island, Maine. They alternate in fluid gold settings Qike splashes of sun on water) with their perfect opposites, luminous white fresh water pearls. The abstract expressionist whom Matsukata's work most resembles is Robert Rauschenberg; like him, she collaged unexpected materials into works that had rhythm and nerve. "Egyptian Brooch With Charms" features elements set jauntily in an asymmetrical silver polygon, including two small figures and a blue-green square stone, jutting outside the frame. The artist was endlessly inventive.

She knit gold and silver wire evident in Cate McQuaid can be reached at cmcqspeakeasy.net. JANUARY 31, 2011 THE BOSTON GLOBE 3.