Ursula Ilse-Neuman is an independent curator whose work has focused on the field of decorative arts and jewelry curation. With a career spanning over three decades and more than 40 exhibitions, many of Ilse-Neuman's notable contributions were made at the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD), formerly known as the American Craft Museum,[1] in New York City, where she served as Curator of Jewelry before assuming the position of Curator Emerita.[2]
Between 1992 and 2014, Ilse-Neuman served as a Curator of Jewelry at the Museum of Arts and Design.[3] During her tenure at MAD, Ilse-Neuman curated numerous exhibitions that explored the intersection of art, craft, and design. Some of her exhibitions which received significant press and industry attention include "Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection" (2017),[4] “Multiple Exposures: Photography and jewelry” (2014) "Space, Light, Structure: Margaret De Patta Retrospective" (2012),[5] and "Inspired Jewelry: Jewelry from the Museum of Arts and Design" (2009),[6] among others.
Ilse-Neuman has lectured nationally and internationally and guest curated numerous exhibitions most recently at the “A Collector's Journey,” at the Lowe Art Museum, Miami, “Rings Redux: The Susan Lewin Collection (SCAD Museum of Art); (2021),[7] “Jewelry of Ideas.”" (2017) (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum), and the contemporary American jewelry section in the “Abhushan” exhibition in New Delhi, India - an exhibition which was sponsored by the World Crafts Council.
Ilse-Neuman has served as a juror for several global exhibitions, including the Smithsonian Craft Show 2024, Sonderschau Schmuck in Munich, Germany, the Exhibition in Print 2004 by the Society of North American Goldsmiths, MetalSmith Magazine,[8] and the International Jewelry Expo in Shanghai.