Aaron Decker no assembly required July 19 - August 10, 2025
Opening / Artist Reception, Saturday July 19, 6 - 8 pm
The exhibition title is a tongue in cheek nod to the meticulousness required to produce this new body of work. Of the necklace Decker states ,' lately, everything feels like it's falling apart - it's overwhelming. So instead of the usually solid surfaces I work on, I'm breaking it all apart, and showing the act of holding it all together.' Decker's new work takes imagery from military patches, badges, and symbols, breaks them down to their elemental shapes, and stitches them back together showing how even the strongest of forms can still be fragile.
Aaron Decker is an immensely inventive enamellist based in the Metro Detroit Area. Decker creates wearable and sculptural forms that are both personally referential and resoundingly universal. Much of the layered imagery in his work has to do with childhood memories growing up in a military family. Many of the allusions in his work (medals, patches, insignia) reference this military context and reflect Decker’s astute critical stance.
Decker Graduated with an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2015. He was recognized with the Emerging Artist Award from Mercedes Benz, and was twice a finalist for for the Young Artist Award from Art Jewelry Forum.
Decker's work can be found in the prestigious collections of the Yale Museum of Art, The Pinakothek Der Moderne, Munich, Germany, the RISD Museum, and many other private and public collections. Decker's work is currently featured in the exhibition OUT of the Jewelry Box, at the Museum of Arts & Design (NYC - through September).
no assembly required is Decker's third solo exhibition with Ornamentum.
