CONTEMPORARY ART JEWELRY

The prices of these jewelry pieces shown range between €360 and €850. If you are interested in one of my contemporary jewelry art objects, please contact me so that we can discuss further details and I can set you in contact with one of my galleries where your preferred piece of jewelry is currently on display. Some objects are in my personal possession. I offer potential buyers to send selected jewelry objects for viewing. Do not hesitate to contact me, I look forward to hearing from you.

CONTEMPORARY ART JEWELRY

(...) The objective and therefore also an essential feature of art jewelry is the freedom of its appearance. Far from the classic materials of goldsmiths, contemporary jewelry consists of all kinds of materials, just as the author likes. The possibility of experimentation, self-determination, the arbitrariness, and the crossing of boundaries are significant parameters for the classification of contemporary jewelry in the field of art. Anything goes - everything is possible and nothing is regulated. This thought can be spun to such an extent that the artist even has the freedom to deprive his piece of jewelry of the actual essence as a wearable object. In addition to the author's creative freedom, there is also freedom of themes. Just like art, the piece of jewelry can serve to process certain facts in an emotional way, contain a message, convey views and critical opinions, teach and inspire or just stand for itself. The self-referential or communicative intention is therefore incumbent on the creator as an artist. The creative freedom gained, the freely determinable choice of material, color and size of the jewelry object as well as its message from the author, a unique individuality emerges in the objects (...).

The often large volume that arises due to unconventional materials and unusual shapes and motifs creates the impression of plastic or sculpture instead of a piece of jewelry. These three-dimensional, artistic formations, which are fundamentally part of art, are recognized as objects. Due to the volume and the increased weight, the jewelry actually tends to slip into the role of an object as an author's jewelry and is also used more and more with this name. With the concept of an object, contemporary jewelry now leaves its actual basis as a decorative element and functions as a small artistic sculpture, detached from the body. The body is no longer the condition for the fulfillment of the function of the jewelry. The condition for the fulfillment of the function of art jewelry is now the viewer. Instead of being cultural media for the body, which visually communicates the personal and collective identity of the wearer, contemporary jewelry is cultural media, but of a completely different kind, since it is now called body-independent work of art can be understood that fulfills its function in the showcase. The showcase is another important element for classifying contemporary jewelry in the field of art, as the jewelry is ultimately transformed into a body-independent display object through the showcase glass. (...)

The construction of this barrier has the consequence that the potential wearer ultimately becomes a viewer. The showcase thus expressly contributes to the functional shift from jewelry to art object. Standing in front of the showcase or walking around it, the viewer lets himself into the piece of jewelry, perceives and searches, explores and discovers, understands and wonders. As soon as you see the jewelry, the designed jewelry has completely fulfilled its function. The object can irritate, stimulate thought and questioning. An atmosphere is built up, starting from the showcase, between the jewelry and the viewer. At the moment of perception, a sphere arises, a mood that touches the senses and triggers a certain feeling in the beholder. The beholder experiences an aesthetic experience. In the space of aesthetic experience, a basic human need opens up: interpretation. Without being asked, people want to interpret and understand the object on display and grasp its meaning. Art, which is itself an instrument for understanding and interpreting the world, offers fundamentally interpretative freedom and art jewelry does the same. Just like the intent of the artist himself, the effect of the jewelry on the individual beholder and their interpretations can vary. As is part of the character of art, the individual works of art also repeatedly refer back to their author, as the creator of freedom of design. But not only that, because the jewelry never exists apart from its artist, but in most cases is mentioned in combination with the name of its creator. Whether in galleries, museums, exhibitions, catalogs or magazines, the work is always accompanied by the name of the artist. The pieces of jewelry are thus works of art referring to their artist, which in turn, as unique pieces, bear the unmistakable signature of the creator and have recognition value.

It can be stated that contemporary jewelry forms an interface between fine arts and goldsmithing and has therefore become a limitless creative medium. Detached from notions of material and form as well as schemes of symbolization, the body no longer performs a relevant role as a fundamental object of localization. The excitability of the soul, of feeling and perception, the power of judgment and thinking in production and reception are from now on its goals. The jewelry object becomes an art object (...).

Extract from: Jil Köhn: “The Divergence of Art and Design - An Inquiry into the Relationship between Art Jewelry and Jewelry Design” Theoretical paper as part of the Bachelor of Arts in Metal Design, B.A., HAWK Hildesheim (unpublished), 2016