I chose to make a selection of gold contemporary jewelry. I chose gold because of my family tradition working for churches, but also because Vicenza is the center of gold jewelry. Young people tend to make pieces in plastic, in rubber, in found materials, just anything which is available because they can’t afford to buy expensive materials, and that makes interesting jewelry, but for my collection, my private collection I decided not to acquire pieces made of plastic anymore, nor rubber, because in time they will be gone. Plastic discolours, rubber disintegrates, wood, gold, silver, steel, all those natural materials, they stay. And, well, for this exhibition, that’s what I did, only gold. Gold is like the sun, gold is like life, and I love it.
I chose to make a selection of gold contemporary jewelry. I chose gold because of my family tradition working for churches, but also because Vicenza is the center of gold jewelry. Young people tend to make pieces in plastic, in rubber, in found materials, just anything which is available because they can’t afford to buy expensive materials, and that makes interesting jewelry, but for my collection, my private collection I decided not to acquire pieces made of plastic anymore, nor rubber, because in time they will be gone. Plastic discolours, rubber disintegrates, wood, gold, silver, steel, all those natural materials, they stay. And, well, for this exhibition, that’s what I did, only gold. Gold is like the sun, gold is like life, and I love it.
Perfectly balancing head, hand and heart, this diverse and vibrant selection of Jewellery illustrates the sculptural and painterly possibilities of gold in the hands of an international group of artists who, unafraid to swim against the tide of tradition and conservatism, have chosen gold, this ancient, venerated metal as the canvas upon which to weave their stories and express their ideas and preoccupations.
Spilla
Iris Bodemer
(1970, Germany)
Brooch, Untitled
1997
18ct gold, aquamarine, coral
100 x 57 x 10 mm
The Marzee Collection, the Netherlands
The brooch is made in different parts which are joined with the help of folded tabs that are reminiscent of those used in tin toys. Iris Bodemer also uses folded tabs to attach parts, and even to set the aquamarine stones and the piece of red coral in her brooch. Sometimes, though not in this piece, she uses staples to join things – proof of a fearless attitude towards precious metals. Her jewellery pieces are like compositions, or collages. Drawing is an important inspiration for her work.
Bracelet, Gold Macht Blind (Gold Makes You Blind)
Otto Künzli
(1948, Switzerland)
Bracelet, Gold Macht Blind (Gold Makes You Blind)
1980
rubber, 18ct gold
Ø 85 x 15 mm
The Marzee Collection, the Netherlands
In 1979 Marie-José van den Hout opened Galerie Marzee for contemporary jewellery, in the years when the taboo of gold in art jewellery was a serious issue.
In 1980 for instance, the Swiss jewellery artist, Otto Künzli, hid a gold sphere inside the rubber band of his Gold Macht Blind (Gold Makes You Blind) bangle, because “It was time for gold to return to the darkness.”
Amuleto
Barbara Paganin
(1961, Italy)
Amulet
1993
18ct gold, brass
28 x 28 x 22 mm
The Marzee Collection,
the Netherlands
In December 1992, while busy renovating the new home for her gallery in Nijmegen, Marie-José fell from a great height onto a concrete floor. She broke her back. A friend/museum curator took it upon herself to ask artists to create amulets for her.
The exhibition of 50 amulets by artists from all over the world was presented to her in 1993 as a token of appreciation and friendship. Barbara Paganin’s amulet, with the cute gold little bird on top of a copper cage, ready to fly away, is a souvenir from that exhibition.
Spilla, Brustschild
Christine Matthias
(1969, Germany)
Brooch, Brustschild (Breast Shield) no. 2
2007
14ct gold
145 mm x 147 x 16 mm
The Marzee Collection,
the Netherlands
The brooch by Christine Matthias, inspired by a brooch her grandmother used to wear, looks like a protective shield, and is embossed and chased. It is made in different parts which are joined with the help of folded tabs that are reminiscent of those used in tin toys.
Collana
Vera Siemund
(1971, Germany)
Necklace, Untitled
1999
Gold
Ø 362 x 9 mm; T. 0.3 mm
The Marzee Collection, the Netherlands
The festive necklace by Vera Siemund is only 0.3 mm thick and made by embossing a gold sheet and hand-piercing the decoration. She made it when she was still a student in Halle, and it shows her great craftsmanship. The necklace reminds us of the paper doilies that are used to present cakes or desserts.
Collana, Cane con la bocca rossa
"Robert Smit
(1941, the Netherlands)
Necklace, Dog with Red Mouth
1997
18ct gold, lacquer
L. 330; dog 125 x 135 x 100 mm
Collection CODA Museum, Apeldoorn (the Netherlands)"
The chain, so cleverly integrated in Smit’s necklace, is a popular genre in gold jewellery. Annelies Planteijdt, also from the Netherlands, created an ingenious link chain from round gold wire. Every link is hammered in a different shape, and the design may look chaotic but has an internal logic.
Follow us on social networks
Subscribe to the newsletter