GZ Art+Design Spots 2005 3

Magic and the mystery of preciousness

It was designed as the project of the century, just as expensive as it should be visionary: The "Schmuckwelten (Jewelry Worlds) Pforzheim". The new exhibition was intended to allow end customers, designers, jewelry manufacturers and specialist retailers to experience jewelry and watches with all of their senses and to provide added inspiration. In addition to the brand name, industry, mineral, jewelry experience and the purchasing world, there is also a design world that takes visitors through the history of jewelry design and also presents current trends and visions. The opening event of the "Schmuckwelten" on June 17 was a star-studded event. Kicking off with a spectacular show on Leopold Square in Pforzheim, the unique shopping and adventure worlds for all aspects of watches and jewelry opened its doors. The roughly 2,500 guests in attendance, including celebrities such as the TV presenter Ulla Kock am Brink or the actress Natalia Wörner, experienced a breathtaking evening with numerous, fantastic highlights. The first convertible in the world made of real gold was presented during the opening show. In painstaking crafts work, the goldplating expert Bernd Höger from Stuttgart equipped an entire Porsche Boxter with a shining coating of 22 karat gold. The precious, unique piece is intended to advertise for the "Schmuckwelten" at events in Germany and abroad. As a real drawing card with many different aspects, the "Schmuckwelten Pforzheim" are not only intended to attract tourists to the Golden City, but instead should convey the fascinating sides of watches and jewelry in a hitherto unseen mixture of entertainment and information, spread over a magnificiently designed space of 4,000 square meters. www.schmuckwelten.de * ahe

Jewelry on air

The second edition of the international Internet and exhibition project for jewelry art, "Jewelry Journey", will be launched with a new topic in August. Jewelry artists from all over the world are invited to enter into a process of netweorking ideas that spans boundaries, this time on the topic of Air. The challenge for the artists is to render air tangible and wearable as an intangible, invisible element in the form of jewelry design. The project's own interest page offers the communication forum for all thoughts, question, discussions, texts, photos and sketches on the joint topic. The participants become acquainted with each other within a virtual framework due to the public networking and also have the opportunity of making a significant contribution to other peoples' drafts. After the three-month dialogue, the items created by the 20 participants as part of the networking will set off on a traveling exhibition round the world within the framework of a year-long, temporary exhibition. The exhibition will be on show in the places in which the jewelry was created. www.jewelleryjourney.de * cete

Jewelry fair with a passion

Suppliers of fashionable and genuine jewelry will be getting together from August 26 to 30, 2005 to showcase their products at the Tendence Lifestyle, the Frankfurt am Main-based lifestyle fair for consumer goods. For the first time, they will be expanding the fair strategy to include this joint presentation platform entitled Carat. High-grade fair events will put the final touches on their new fair strategy. Young designers will be highlighting sizzling designs and iconoclastic product ideas in the special Talents Area. The presentation zone for the Phillip Becker Precious Stone Cutting Workshop will be drawing attention to contemporary jewelry with a cross-section of the most magnificient drafts of select creative workshops. www.tendence-lifestyle.messefrankfurt.com * cete

Setting stones at a click

The Austrian jewelry designer, Sonja Martin, has developed an entirely new method for setting stones. Her attractive gemstone line with zirconium and spinel ruby holds a secret: the stones are set in acryl instead of elaborately in metal. This small but innovative difference can only be recognized in the colored setting. In a unique fasion, synthetic stones and also colored gemstones can be set favorably and at fantastic price with this method, which is patented in Germany. The new, patented click technology is of inestimable value, especially when setting memoire rings with several stones in baguettte cut. None of the stones are broken during setting or later on when the jewelry is worn. The gemstones are simply pressed into the acryl setting. You hear a click and the stone locks into place. In view of the fact that plastic is softer than the stone, there is  no damage caused by stress. The method is fast and therefore inexpensive. The plastic setting is suitable for jewelry made of other precious metals such as gold, silver or platinum and naturally also all kinds of gemstones. www.upnorm.com * ahe

Monthly rings and daily forms

Over 30 designers participated in the fourth project "Monthly Rings" by Barbara Schmidt. "Monthly Rings and Daily Forms" is a book full of wearable rings, light, flat, crazy and playful - every item is a piece of jewelry that flies in the face of the gravity of circumstance. Barbara Schmidt, Director of the Design Academy in Munich and herself a jewelry designer and design manager: "Trees grow a ring a year, also mirroring the passage of time. The monthly rings allow their owners to reflect and interpret their moods over the year. We make our own time easier by using a counterbalance or reinforcement. The 3×12 monthly rings are round, flat, different, endless, transient, beautiful, intensive and significant. They are wound, hooked, worn, fuzzed, listened to, washed, ignited and knotted. They are signs of their times, inspirations and ornaments for the finger, joint, neck and heart." www.barbara-schmidt-schmuck.de * cete

Werner Häring's napa diamonds

The German craftsman Werner Häring considers himself to be self-taught when it comes to jewelry design. Coming from a career as a book printer, he shifted gears in 1985 to an industry he had very little knowledge of and embraced it with vigor and enthusiasm. From the beginning, he decided he would create jewelry in the spirit of the times, new classics that are beautiful yet unique, combining the traditional with the non-traditional in wearable works of art that reflect tribal sensitivity in a contemporary, urban way. His latest collection is a prime example of his artistic philosophy. "A Touch of Africa" encompasses a variety of jewelry styles and materials with ethnic flare, including pieces created with red and black colored Napa leather from Japan, diamond and stainless steel. The series is called Napa Diamond. The bracelets and necklaces are available in black and red. According to Häring, color is the overall jewelry trend with a strong connection to fashion. Häring says he has evolved as a jewelry designer during his career by traveling and meeting people. "Everywhere I go I'm conscious of other people, colors, smells, and cultures that inspire me. As I did not learn this profession in the classic way, the years of practice, exchanging with colleagues, working with my team and customers, and visiting fairs all over the world have all been important to my development. To all of these things, I owe a little bit of my success." www.wernerhaering.de * ahe

Art in the City

Hundreds of thousands flocked to Zurich in 1998 when the meadows played host to decorative ruminants. On their tour of the world, they have grazed in places such as New York and L.A. in many other cities, one finds horses, bears, fish, lions or pigs. Under the brand "Art in the City", Xtrem cooperates with city marketing organizations to produce miniatures of 6-40 cm made of poly-resin, hand-painted in glowing colors and in a limited edition. The two meter Buddy Bear role models have patrons such as Bill Clinton and Jackie Chan, and are now even found in Tokyo. This year in Zurich, 500 large bears will welcome guests to the Teddy Summer Zurich 2005. www.art-in-the-city.com * kph

A play with original American myths

The House of Art in Munich will be showing "LaLa Land Parody Paradise" until August 28; the exhibition is to date the largest individual show in Europe presenting videos, major installations, photos, sculptures and drawings by Paul McCarthy. It will not be the cup of tea for art aesthetes or conservatives. The US artist brutally strips away the myths of American mass culture and takes a look behind the false front of Marlboro Western, Hollywood or Disneyland. His over five meter pirate ship convincingly reveals the two sides to his objects. From the front, it resembles something like a romantic reminiscence that could set sail any moment, but from the back we see the brutality of hell; murder and manslaughter among bloodthirsty sea robbers. Abu Ghraib is constantly lurking behind the revealing facades. www.hausderkunst.de * kph

Fifth "Annual International Graduation Show" in Leipzig

"Jewelry with Content" is the term coined by the Dutch gallery-owner Marie-José van den Hout for artistic jewelry; it is a style that focuses to a greater degree on avant-garde ideas and their experimental creation than on commercial marketing. The "Annual International Graduation Show", which will this year be presented for the fifth time at the MIDORA in Leipzig, unites roughly 80 of these unique pieces. The gallery-owner selects particularly successful graduation pieces from approx. 25 art and design colleges from all over the world. The Dutchwoman has promoted young jewelry artists in her gallery MARZEE (Nihmegen, The Netherlands) for over fifteen years, "Graduates do not have a whole lot of opportunity to market themselves or to make progress in their careers", says van den Hout. "If we stopped promoting them or the academies, eventually a tradition would die out - a tradition that demands that we work with our hands and our heads." www.midora.de  * cete

Diamond jewelry contest

The HRD Awards, first organized in 1984, is a biannual diamond jewelry contest with the exceptional aim of enhancing creativity and design excellence in contemporary diamond jewelry. The contest HRD Awards 2005 is open to international participants: 490 artists from 55 different countries submitted over 850 designs, inspired by the topic "Diamonds are Fun". An international jury chose 49 finalists from Belgium, Brazil, China, Malaysia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the UK, The Netherlands, South Africa and Korea created unique and original items of jewelry pieces, sponsored by Antwerp diamond companies that HRD helps to recruit.

The first prize of 5,000 euros is awarded by an international jury for the best item of "unique" jewelry piece. HRD buys the winning piece and donates it to the Antwerp Diamond Museum. The five prize winners in 2005 are: Ceara Mc Guire from Belgium with a brooch, Shimada Sachika from Japan with a Japanese fan, Cari-Mari Wilsenach from South Africa with a necklace, Gaetano Del Duca from Italy with a bracelet and Ming Yi Chang from China with a necklace in the form of a globefish.

From July 1 to August 31, 2005 the "HRD Awards Collection 2005" will be exhibited in the Antwerp Diamond Museum, the largest diamond museum in the world, before starting an international tour visiting Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai. www.hrd.bewww.diamondsarefun.be * ahe

Exquisite treasures from the Green Vault in England

From June 11 to October 23, the Gilbert Collection in Somerset House in London will exhibit selected pieces from the State Art Collection in Dresden, in particular form the Green Vault. The collections held by the Saxon Kings from 1580 to 1620 are among the most beautiful artistic treasures of the Renaissance. The unique collection of precious jewels from the Zwinger in Dresden is most famous for the extraordinary gold and silversmith work. www.gilbert-collection.org.uk * ahe

Puma eyes a leap in time

There are now matching watches available to complement the sport and lifestyle fashion by Puma. On July 2, the corporate group EganaGoldpfeil presented the watch creations to the press and specialist retailers at an extravagant event in a trendy bar in the as yet unfinished underground station on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. EganaGoldpfeil purchased the rights to produce and sell the Puma watches around the world, apart from the United States and Canada. Initially, the new collection will be sold in twelve European countries, followed by Asia and South America. This years should see over 3,500 points of sale offering the fashionable timpieces around the world. Puma is regarded as being a specialist for sports lifestyle, global success in sport fashion made the brand with the wild cat into a darling of the stock markets. EganaGoldpfeil is a multibrand corporation and is known for the creation and marketing of brand name watches and jewelry. A whole year was set aside in order to create an innovative Puma watch collection with revolutionary design. There are clear hints at the trendy and retro-look seventies. Over 57 different models from nine product families will in future ensure fun with a fashion factor. As a true eye catcher, the wild cat is immediately apparent on each watch. In addition, the models carry the number 1948, the year in which Puma was founded. The watch lines are based on the topic worlds of Future, Lifestyle and Sport. www.egana.de * ahe

Arts and Crafts in Northern Germany

The Arts and Crafts Prize, which comes with 7,500 euros, and the innovation Prize, which comes with 2,500 euros, will be awarded during the "Triennial of Northern German Art and Crafts" from May to August 2006. Artists and craftsmen and women from Schleswig Holstein, Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony are all invited to take part. An object jury, which is preceded by a photo jury, will decide on the eligibility of the work to be included in the exhibition and on awarding the prizes. First-time applicants can send in photos of no more than five pieces of new work by November 16, 2005. Applicants that have already taken part in previous Triennials can submit their work from January 4 to 13, 2006. All of the selected pieces will be displayed from May 14 to August 1, 2006 at Gottorf Castle and from September 3 to December 3, 2006 at Güstrow Castle in Northern Germany. postel@schloss-gottorf.fe * cete

High gloss for platinum and gold

Busch's Starlight polishers put elegant high gloss on platinum and gold giving designers, goldsmiths and jewellers new and creative design tools. Its four different tool forms can be used to create fascinating high gloss effects on surfaces, edges, elevations and impressions without any problems. This translates design ideas into perfect deisgn. mail@busch-co.de * cete

Precious Lucca - Valuable reading in an exhibition catalogue

The Tuscan city of Lucca, famous for its historical and artistic legacy, has sounded the bell for a new era this summer with a first exhibition of contemporary jewelry design, the Lucca Preziosa. The presentation of exceptional jewelry design by internationally renowned jewelry designers such as peter Chang, Erico nagai or Jaqueline Ryan was the starting event for the region's new focus on the culture of our times, said the Mayor of Lucca, Pietro Fazzi. The catalogue for the exhibition documents in word and picture the items of jewelry and their designers, but also the history of jewelry and decorative objects in Lucca during the 19th and 20th centuries, takes a detour through the jewelry collection in the Pinakothek New Collection in Munich and contains a lot of interesting information concerning the significance and use of various materials in jewelry design.

Of virgins and monsters

The Jewelry Museum in Pforzheim is geting bigger. Therefore, the public collection in the Reuchlin House, which documents the development of occidental art from ancient times until the present day, will remain closed until November 19. During this period of renovation, the museum is showing the exhibition "Of Virgins and Monsters - Highlights of Jewelry Art from 1840 to 1940" from the Jewelry Museum collection, the exhibition will be in the basement from June 4 to September 25. The exhibition features exceptional work from Historism and Art Nouveau, along with the twenties and thirties. These are highlights of jewelry art, created between Bidermeier and the Second World War. The exhibition features numerous artistic luminaries and documents an important era of European culture, the collective work in Pforzheim and the history of jewelry production in Pforzheim. Under the title "Schmuck/Jewellery 1840-1940 - Highlights des Schmuckmuseums Pforzheim", Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart, has published a book by Fritz Falk, which, among other things, also presents the items in this exhibition (price 39.80 EUR, ISBN 3-89700180-3). A special edition for the price of 29.80 EUR is available from the Jewelry Museum in Pforzheim. www.schmuckmuseum.de * ahe

Swiss quality in the tool sector

Edenta, the specialist company guarantees absolute quality consistency. Its range of top grade abrasive and polishing rotary instruments includes all features of the highest quality products. Their programme is made up of traditional silicon rubber polsihers as well as state-of-the-art diamond impregnanted ones with focus on longevity and high level performance, various different types suited for the full spectrum of all kinds of materials used in jewelry and other industries, diamond burs and cutting discs, tungsten carbide cutters, tubynit trimmers, ceramic bonded stones and steelburs, plus mandrels, drills and finishers.

All instruments are made from only the best quality materials and every one of them is manufactured to meet the demanding ISO 9001 standards, in fact exceeding them by far. Edenta polishers, diamonds and carbides are highly respected by even the most discerning operators who have been using them. Some of the most important features of the Edenta Rotary instruments include its enhanced durability standards and the unmatched longevity. Its cutting, polishing and trimmering efficiency is the ultimate that is available in the market today, and its concentricity is unparalleld. All in all it is only fair comment to make, that Edenta Rotary Instruments have become "The New Industry Standard". A company commitment to superior service has propelled Edenta to the forefront of the rotary instrument market, and complete customer satisfaction is the goal of every Edenta employee. Swiss Quality at its very best. www.edenta.ch * Edenta

Creative connection

The Nittel system has put another group of articles in the interchangeable clasp system to facilitate the individual creativity and artisan abilities of national and international goldsmiths and designers. The tube key enables them to design necklaces in any material such as gold, silver, steel, plastic or leather, etc. while linking it with the interchangeable clasp system. The exterior diameter of necklaces can be 2, 3, 4 or 5 mm. The sleeve keys are produced in steel, gold-plated steel, rhodinated steel, sterling silver, 18 karat yellow gold or 18 karat white gold. All are equipped with the inner adhesive edgte to prevent complaints, if it is professionally glued or soldered in www.nittel-system.de * cete

Treasures of the Oceans - The Japanese leagues ahead

A total of 710 competition pieces were submitted by goldsmiths and jewelry designers from 19 countries to the 30th International Pearl Design Contest, 400 of them came from Japan alone. The competition was open to freelance and employed goldsmiths, jewelry designers, apprentices and students. A Grand Prix was awarded to the winners in the categories "Jewelry Items" and "Drawings". All of the Grand Prix and the first prizes went to japanese entrants. The 15 submissions by German goldsmiths and jewelry designers were not included in the closer contention, however; the jury members expressed regret at this, whereby they emphasized the high standards of the submitted pieces. Classically styles yet also more traditional and of very high class workmanship, the prize winning competition pieces symbolize the persistent value of pearls. The winning item of jewelry that was awarded the Grand Prix, an expansive necklace, consists of 1,150 Akoya cultured pearls. The International Pearl Design Contest was heldf for the first time by the Japan Pearl Society in 1973 in order to encourage designers from around the world to submit new design proposals for Akoya cultured pearls and at the same time to indicate innovative methods of marketing. The prize winning jewelry items will be exhibited around the world. * suh

Shapes of Jewelry - Visions

Jewelry is not simply a run of the mill product: symbolic expression, preciousness and beauty transform jewelry into an object of emotive dedication. This subjective and emotional value has been an inherent property of jewelry since the dawn of time, although it has lost a significant part of its sheen over recent years; indeed, this dilution of jewelry's expressiveness promotes the sale of mass, technological goods, like the now seemingly indispensable mobile phones. In order to create a revival, psychological and cultural aspects would have to be lent significant weight in the design. In practical terms, the rediscovery of lost magic would be necessary to breathe new life into this product. The strategists at the Vicenza trade fair are entirely in agreement on this point, ad this was indeed the reason why the idea for the Salon Shapes of Jewelry - Visions was born. The main focus of the salon's second edition, which will be held during the trade fair Orogemma (September 10 to 15) is on trendy and creative jewelry, promoted in the ideas created by the best designers in this field and by young designers, art schools and goldsmith artists.

At the entrance, visitors pass through a trend section, designed with the cooperation of the English firm TJF (Trends Jewellery Forecasting), a specialist in the field of jewelry forecasts. In practical terms, it offers a visual journey, each stage divided into one of the four mega-trends in golden jewelry fashion; it is intended to provide concrete incentive for the development of products, with which jewelers can regain consumer favor by applying a cutting edge style.

In order to provide visitors with a clear overview of the creative and trend spectrum, Vicenza has been, since the first event, in the fortuitous position of being able to draw on renowned partners such as DTC, Perles de Tahiti and the Japan Jewellery Designers Association. Given this high-class cast, one should not dismiss the possibility that Shapes of Jewelry may attain significance comparable with the interior design fair in Milan for the furniture sector. www.shapesofjewelry.it * rob

Friedrich Becker Prize goes to Peter Bauhuis

The young, Munich-based gold and silversmith Peter Bauhuis won the Friedrich Becker Prize 2005. Bauhuis is an alumnus of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and was a member of the class for jewelry and equipment under Professor Otto Künzli. The master student received the award for his receptacles cast in silver and fine silver; it is an eye catcher due to its exceptional surface and interesting design. With the award of the 5,000 euro Friedrich Becker Prize, a private donatoin by his window Hildegard Becker in Düsseldorf, the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst e.V. pays testimony to the memories of the great jewelry designer Professor Friedrich Becker (1922-1997).

In the jewelry and receptacles by Peter Bauhuis, the main focus is on experimentation with the process of casting and melting the metal. Some of the differently sized receptacles have little "feet", which in terms of casting technique, served as the gate. The surfaces are slightly uneven, in some cases interwoven with coincidental patterns or fine cracks - they lend the pieces an archaic appearance and originality. Since 1990, jewelry and equipment by Peter Bauhuis has been on show in individual exhibitions in Germany, Denmark, Austria, the United States, Italy and Switzerland. In spring 2005, Gallery Funaki in Melbourne, Australia, showed a selection of his work under the title "Melbourne Seria". In 2004 and 2005, work by the artist was presented at the "collect" - art fair for contemporary objects in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Jewelry and receptacles by Peter Bauhuis have already won numerous prizes. www.gfg-hanau.de * ahe

Annamaria Zanella - In the form of jewelry

The jewelry work by Annamaria Zanella represents unusual compositions of considerable intensity. The artistic process, the investigation of the material and the correct presentation are tangible, manifest in the well-considered decision as to how to divide the forces. In this context, jewelry feeds of the experience from painting and sculpture; however, the bedrock is always a profound and perfect knowledge of her craft.

The goldsmith Annamaria Zanella (born 1966 in Sant'Angelo di Piove / Padua, Italy) is regarded as being of the most prominent protagonists of contemporary jewelry making. The absolute autonomy in the selection of means, a sensual and poetic interpretation of their qualities, the sculpted design of the bodies - these are the predominant factors of her jewelry work. "Objets trouvés" - iron, steel, glass, textile, paper maché, aluminum and copper as fragments of everyday life, so-called "materiali poveri" - are smoothly embedded in this cosmos and made to shine using, for example, finest elements made of gold and cleverly placed, colorful, textile and graphic surface processing. The work by Annamaria Zanella assumes a programatic posture in the broad field of contemporary, author's jewelry. The focus is no longer on the function as an ornament, but instead the aesthetic idea is in harmony with the crafts and technical workmanship. These two aspects merge on a new level to form perfect, artistic expression in the form of jewelry. The New Collection at the State Museum for Applied Art has included international, modern jewelry design in its group of topics since the opening of the Danner Rotunda in the Pinakothek der Moderne in March 2004; ever so often, it focuses on this topic in special events, such as the presentation of the work by Annamaria Zanella in the premises of the Design Collection in the New Museum in Nuremberg. It was designed in cooperation with the artist and presents a portrait of her work over the last ten years. The exhibition will run from June 28 to the end of September 2005. www.die-neue-sammlung.de * ahe

Forms of retirement

Good design can also make life more pleasant. Students at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin have developed everyday objects for senior citizens that are not only more beautiful, but are also more functional than what is usually an offer. Even the typical, old-age products such as walking sticks and pill boxes have new solutions, in which a successful appearance and usefulness form a convincing alliance. For example, the multi-functional stick can be used simply to get about or for Nordic walking. Also, the ornate pillbox "Pillbox 60 +" by Jan Patric Metzger cannot be lost, as it is suspended on a bracelet or in a pink variation for ladies around the neck. www.udk-berlin.de * kph