The Art of Transformation: The Jewelry of Mark Schneider

By Elyse Zorn Karlin, Guest Curator

A selection of Mark Schneider’s one-of-a-kind jewelry is on display at the Lizzadro Museum from November 7, 2026 through April 4, 2027. Mark has won 68 prestigious jewelry industry awards since he began his career as a jewelry designer.

Segueing from his family’s jewelry business which he had been a part of for a number of years, he began to work with a range of precious and semi-precious stones that “speak” to him and allow him to create exciting jewelry.

Many jewelers design a piece of jewelry first and then search for the stones to mount into their design. Mark works in a completely different way—he finds stones he thinks are beautiful or interesting, and sometimes rare, and designs a piece of jewelry around the stones. He works with gem cutters and lapidaries who often use unusual faceting techniques. Mark’s designs compliment the stones as a frame does a painting.

Mark’s jewelry reflects many of his interests. It primarily fits into several categories: water, flora and fauna, architectonic, furniture-influenced, and the cosmos and they are grouped in this manner in the exhibition.

In addition to the award-winning pieces there are an additional 22 pieces of jewelry he designed for the American Jewelry Design Council Projects, the prestigious invitation-only group of which he is a member. The AJDC selects a theme each year and the members are free to interpret the theme in their own way. Mark’s pieces for the AJDC show his playful nature which is a different side of his work.

“The Art of Transformation: The Jewelry of Mark Schneider” opens on Saturday November 7, 2026. Join us at 2 p.m. to meet the artist and learn about the inspiration for his jewelry designs. Register here. His full-length film, “Sharing the Rough” will play on Sunday November 8 and December 13 at 1 p.m. This documentary is an eye-opening journey into the world of gemstones. Register here.