Florence Resnikoff

Florence Resnikoff was an artist and educator in the fields of metals and jewelry.

Resnikoff began making jewelry in 1948 while attending the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting, affiliated with the Art Institute of Chicago, in Saugatuck, Michigan. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in sculpture from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1967 and an M.A. from San Jose State University in 1973.

Resnikoff's early designs were cast or constructed designs that followed the principles of the modernists‍—‌materials and function defined the character of the piece. However, unlike the modernists, she rejected simplicity and often added embellishments, ornaments, and bright colors. She developed as an artist, mastering different techniques such as electroforming, anodizing, plique-à-jour, keum-boo, and mokume-gane, working with gold, silver, platinum, pewter, copper, bronze, titanium, and niobium. She used these different techniques to pursue her lifelong interest in color, employing enamel, patinas, cast resins and more to expand her palette. Her unusual combinations of metals and gemstones are a defining characteristic of her work.

In the mid-1960s, Resnikoff became interested in other metals and larger forms, leading her to undergo formal training in sculpture. While her jewelry was gaining notoriety, appearing in many shows across the country, Resnikoff moved away from working with precious stones and pursued her development as a metalsmith. After moving back to California in 1965, she resumed her education, and received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts to study electroforming techniques and their application to jewelry and metalsmithing. This led her to concentrate more on metal in combinations with bronze, silver, and copper.

Transposed Inlay Neckpiece, 1978

In 1973, Resnikoff began teaching at the California College of Arts and Crafts in the Jewelry Metal Arts Program, becoming Program Head in 1980. She retired as Professor Emerita in 1989.

Resnikoff's work can be found in the permanent collections of the City and County of San Francisco, the Oakland Museum of California, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.