Founded in 2010 by Maria Wolff and Holly Gooch, The Metals Collective has produced over a dozen group exhibitions, featuring over 20 different makers. For each show, a historical or conceptual theme is selected for participating members to respond to. Each artist is encouraged to create work that pushes the bounds of their regular studio practice, resulting in individual artistic growth. By bringing handmade art jewelry and objects to view in public spaces, the Metals Collective engages the community in explorations of historical content and contemporary metalsmithing practices. Shows are often installed in settings such as bars, in order to share our work without the typical barriers of craft institutions. Members range from fresh graduates to seasoned professionals.

"Metalsmiths are some of craft’s ultimate conductors, taking raw materials and melting, twisting, hammering, smoothing, shaping, texturizing, and embellishing them into whatever form their mind has envisioned, in a symphony of inventiveness and agility. Metal craft brings us a wide range of objects of beauty to behold, from functional tools of incredible strength, to elaborate, dazzling, one-of-a-kind accessories with which we adorn ourselves. Since 2010, the members of Portland, Maine based Metals Collective have been working together and challenging each other to bring life to their visions for their individual and group metal craft. For ten years, the group has been growing and changing just like their vision, skill and reach.

Originally founded by Maria Wolff and Holly L Gooch as Metal Heads Redux, an homage to a previous Portland group of metalsmiths from the 90’s called The Metal Heads Society, the group is currently composed of eighteen artists within different stages of their careers, each with different backgrounds and styles.

The Metals Collective continues to surprise and excite its audience with intriguing and relevant work in a variety of unique exhibitions. These exhibitions encourage members to work outside of their individual comfort zones to breathe new life into their studio practice while enhancing their personal creative growth. Participating members respond to their given exhibition themes with extraordinary skill and exquisite vision, resulting in a profound collective experience often displayed where one would least expect to see a craft installation. This immersive technique exposes more people to the world of fine craft.

One such unexpected exhibition space is the exceptional cocktail bar The Jewel Box on Portland’s Congress St. The beautiful and unique space has served as host of Piercing the Pickle (2015), The Fragrant Jewel (2016), Cocktail Accoutrements (2017), Refraction (2018), and most recently Cabinet of Curiosities (2019). Other locations have included Bar of Chocolate, Patty Daunis-Dunning Jewelry Shop, Maine College of Art, Portland Fine Craft Show, The Center for Maine Craft, and Fore River Gallery.....

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