Jocz began his career as a sculptor in the 1960s before pivoting to jewelry in the 1980s. Educated at the Philadelphia College of Art (later the University of the Arts) and the University of Massachusetts, he never took a formal metalworking class, instead learning through trial and error. “I do ask myself many times why I am doing jewelry,” he muses, tracing his interest to a love of metal and working in miniature—indeed, his inventive work demonstrates an ability to make jewelry that reads as sculpture.
Working often in series, Jocz’s style has evolved considerably over his career, shifting from geometric abstractions (such as the bracelet on view here) to lifelike forms to playful pop art-inspired “candy wear.” He admires the improvisational rhythms of jazz music and believes a similar “chaotic order” pervades his own jewelry. Jocz’s work is held in museum collections including Woodmere, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.
