Since her postgraduate days in the early 1970s, Wendy Ramshaw has been making rings, clusters of which have adorned turned pillars in a seemingly inexhaustible progression of possibilities and combinations. Rather than following a single organizing principle, her vocabulary of geometric and abstract shapes renews itself in each composition as the manipulation of its syncopated rhythms yields fresh points of view.

Ramshaw conceives her cluster rings in conjunction with stands, at first made from either acrylic or metal but later featuring metal with inlaid resin. Functionally, the ringstands serve as storage/display units for when the rings are not worn. Yet with their highly architectural and sculptural forms, the stands achieve a role beyond their intended function. They make a sculptural statement that removes the entire composition from the realm of jewelry. On rare occasions—for exhibition purposes only—Ramshaw has made coordinating bases for her ringstands, as seen here.