Friday, 5 March 2010

Schmuck 2010 was the center of five fever-pitched days of jewelry and adornment held in Munich, Germany, from the 3rd to the 9th March 2010. Over 30 exhibitions were presented citywide, representing a variety of countries, academic programs and individual studio artists.

From a pool of 600 applicants reigning from 36 countries, Monica Gaspar (Spain) had the insurmountable task of selecting 60 jewelry artists from 28 countries for Schmuck 2010.  The exhibition opened on the first day as part of the Internationalen Handwerksmesse München, the Messe München International (Munich International Trade Fairs) on the former site of Munich’s airport. As I understand it, historically there are few Americans that have been curated into the exhibition, and I was honored to be selected.

I arrived in town on Friday, 5th March. The installation of the show was amazing: a massive glass and aluminum temporary structure that gave each piece the lighting and attention that the work deserved. The gallery was laid out in a manner that moved the spectators around the large oval track with cases lining every inch of the walls. Upon my arrival the exhibition held about a dozen attendees making their way around the displays, purchasing catalogs and snapping photos. This is where I met the director of Schmuck, Eva Sarnowski, who graciously welcomed me to the exhibition and supplied me with all the necessary print materials for the next three days. It was a good choice to have attended the exhibition early, because the following day was the polar opposite, with massive crowds.

I spent time carefully inspecting the cases, seeking out the work of fellow American makers while being introduced to the international jewelry in the exhibition. The United States was represented by Mielle Harvey, John Iversen, Seth Papac, Natalya Pinchuck, Sergey Jivetin and myself. Another important American connection was Cranbrook’s Iris Ichenberg, who represented the Netherlands.

Schmuck was held at the Trade Fair, which also featured an enormous amount of manufactured and handmade goods. ‘Handwerk & Design’, housed in one hall, showed an amazing assortment of craft, design and fine arts. Also in conjunction with Schmuck were four special exhibitions: Exempla 2010, Keramik (Ceramic), Talente 2010, Meister der Moderne 2010 and Frame, also held at the Trades Fair. Exempla was dedicated to the theme of ‘ceramic shapes the earth’, to show how widespread the use of this material is in our daily lives. Works ranged from studio ceramics to architectural master works, and active studios were put on display. It was as if I was looking at a diorama of the contemporary ceramist’s studio.
Talente was a showcase and competition for newcomers (under thirty) representing the next generation of makers. Among the bright young upstarts was Adam Grinovich (US/Sweden). In a departure from his earlier Computer Aided Design (CAD)/Additive Manufactured (AM) work, Grinovich has submerged himself into the currents of contemporary European jewelry. His current pieces combine the structure found in his early work with postindustrial materials.

Frame was another grouping of three galleries presenting alongside the Schmuck 2010 exhibition. The international galleries consisted of Galerie Marzee (Netherlands), Galerie Platina (Sweden) and Galerie Ra (Netherlands). Gallery Ra featured the work of Melanie Bilenker (US).

Meister der Moderne, the ‘Masters of modern times’, presented the best works of internationally renowned contemporary artisans in glass, ceramic, wood, metal, textile and jewelry. Included at Meister der Moderne was the work of the late Aud Charlotte Ho Sook Sinding (Sweden). The whimsical animal head brooches had a visual weight that communicated a series of visually heavy pieces. However, examination of the work (which I was later able to do at the studio/gallery of Mia Maljojoki) revealed how lightweight and wearable the objects were, as they were made from vinyl. I would describe the series as vinyl toy jewelry. (I in no way intend to diminish the work by describing it as toy like, since I thoroughly enjoyed it.) I ran into Helen W. English Drutt, Liesbeth den Besten and Leo Caballero at the studio of Maljojoki, and we viewed many of the pieces together. Departing the studio I sat down for a hurried dinner with jewelers Maljojoki (Germany) and Donna Verveka (US), before we made our way to Munich’s renowned Pinakothek der Moderne.

At the Pinakothek, several hundred people filled the first floor of the museum standing shoulder to shoulder. Despite the crowd, you could not help but notice the students of the Jewelry and Product Design Department, Academy Fine Arts Maastricht (NL), presenting a wonderfully orchestrated display of their work in LED lit clear vinyl handbags, and titled BAGEXPO (the students carried their work venue to venue throughout the city).  The work had a casual appearance, although it had a very formal jewelry structure of connections, findings and finish.

While at the Pinakothek I had the pleasure of seeing Giampaolo Babetto’s L'Italianità dei Gioielli, a fabulous installation of endless vitrines of gold jewelry, with the reds and blues of the enameling techniques lining the massive rotunda’s third floor balcony. The volume of jewelry seemed to self-illuminate among the crowds of viewers.

Departing the museum, a crowd hurried across the street to see Cranbrook Academy Artist in residence Iris Eichenberg’s Birds and flowers of Michigan at Galerie Spektrum.  Yonic petals of nylon-folded pieces are contrasted with cocoon-like mummified birds.  The work was displayed without the traditional cases, which allowed the viewer to get up close and thoroughly inspect it.

Upon our departure, we couldn’t imagine looking at another piece of jewelry – but there it was, another gallery of fabulous pieces and another group of Schmuck goers who joined our ever-growing ‘Schmuck Posse’. With the idea of winding down the evening we made our way to a drinking engagement. The evening (or should I say, the morning) came to a close at the ‘Sick of Schmuck’ party (aka Schluck 6!) for an evening of drinks, music and dancing. It was good to reconnect with people like Susan Cohn (Australia) and I was amazed by the distances people traveled be at Schmuck.

Saturday, 6 March 2010
On my second day in Munich I was greeted by several inches of freshly fallen snow. I made my way to meet with friends and tackle the exhibitions as they opened in the city’s posh Schwabing neighborhood. Moving from show to show we were able to take in some impressive work ranging from mid-career exhibitions like AAVISTU, nestled in an all white (floor to ceiling) basement of a design firm, to the recent graduate work of Eternal shine - it´s not a pony, at the Projektraum J. Baumeister, and finally to the work in the exhibition Dialogue 8.
 

We were directed to an old foundry in the heart of city, a welcome destination and escape from the snow. The old foundry was gritty and seemed to be slightly ‘cleaned up’ to accommodate the Dialogue 8 exhibition.  The work was casually laid out on strips of brown paper on top of worktables. Each artist was identified by brightly colored neon colored paper signs bearing their names. The exhibition was a response to a project that was seeded by Helen Carnac (Britain) three months prior to the opening. Carnac provided the participants with a series of gifts and asked them to create work inspired by the gifts.

Back at the Schmuck exhibition, the Herbert Hofmann Prize was awarded at the Trade Fair Hall. Since 1973 the award has been presented to up to three distinguished participants per year, commemorating the shows founder Dr. Herbert Hofmann. Prize recipients include John Iversen (US), Mia Maljojoki (DL) and David Bielander (DL). This event was one of the culminating events of the Schmuck week, and highly attended.

Before leaving the Trade Fair for the last time I visited a couple special projects, including Liesbeth den Besten’s ThinkTank: A European Initiative for the Applied Arts. ThinkTank was presenting of their current publication and accompanying exhibition Speed, featuring a selection of sixteen designers (including Ted Noten and Marcel Wanders).
That evening the attendees made their way to the goldsmiths’s beer hall get-together at the famous Marinaplatz. The event was so large that it was held in three banquet rooms.

Sunday, 07 March 2010

On the final day of programming, I decided to spend much of the day exploring. I went to the Pinakothek der Moderne and focused on the Danner-Rotunde, an outstanding collection of contemporary studio jewelry curated by Karl Fritsch. It is probably one of the most (or only) outstanding permanent collections of international work that I had ever witnessed. The jewelry was displayed in a large, arching subterranean gallery, and in peculiar clusters as if to create a forced association between each piece of jewelry.

The annual Schmuck and all the parallel exhibitions are a worthwhile pilgrimage.
Throughout my trip I kept thinking how I had traveled 4,000 miles to really appreciate what we have stateside, but I questioned most the disconnect between the US and European Union (EU) when it comes to jewelry. In the age of digital technologies the dialogue should be further connected. Where is the disconnect, and why? In the US we are excited about, and even long for, the works being made in the EU. Do they feel the same way?
 

Schmuck is a much different event than what is experienced stateside at the Society of North American Goldsmith’s annual conference. Unlike SNAG, the majority of programming that surrounds Schmuck are independent events in response to this exhibition at the Trades Fair. In addition, Schmuck does not present any formal lectures, outside of the Herbert Hofmann Award presentations. Both events are a mechanism to generate discourse. 

We must continue to share the works and the makers on a global level. In the age we live in, it is nearly impossible to not see work that is happening around the world.

PHOTOS (from top to bottom):

Adam Grinovich
Necklace: Function & sense #1: Function 1, 2008
leather, polish, iron, 500 x 105 mm

Melanie Bilener
Necklace and brooch 2008
gold, ebony, resin, pigment, hair

Aud Charlotte Ho Sook Sinding,
Forbidden fruit, silicon,
plastic, gold-plated silver

Kristel Timmermans
Granny brooch
porcelain, BAGEXPO
 

Giampaolo Babetto
L'Italianità dei Gioielli
installation at the Pinakothek der Moderne

Iris Eichenberg,
Flowers and birds of Michigan, 2010
Image by GALERIE SPEKTRUM

Maria Vuorinen (left)
My mourning dress, 2008
image – object installation, photography, collar, featured in AAVISTU

Eternal Shine(right)
it´s not a pony, poster and installation

Dialogue 8
installation

John Iversen (left)
Cutting free armband, 2009
sterling silver, gold, 190 × 70 mm

Mia Maljojoki(middle)
Chain, 2009
dental plaster cast, rubber band, 50 × 110 × 40 mm

David Bielander (right)
Corn cob pendant
2009, split pins
silver, 50 x 260 mm

Marcel Wanders
Airborne snotty vase, 2001
polyamide, 150 x 150 x 150 mm

Danner-Rotunde installation (2 images left to right)
curated by Karl Fritsch