EXPO ‘Matters of Life & Death’ – Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery, Saltaire (UK) – 7 Juill.-25 Sept. 2011

Matters of Life and Death

An exhibition that explores the responses of nine international jewellery artists to the proliferation of natural disasters and man-made destruction in our world

Matters of Life and Death includes sculptural work, jewellery and film, curated in a way that makes religious, political, artistic and fashion statements asking questions about life and death, light and dark, sobriety and humour.

(Neckpiece by Agnes Larsson)

Visitors will not only be confronted by the striking jewellery they will be provoked into considering the following: How would it feel to have a wolf trap clasped around your wrist?

 

Sophie Hanagarth, this year’s winner of the Herbert Hofmann prize, the world’s most prestigious contemporary jewellery award, presents Trap, wrought iron bracelets that resemble wolf traps with sharp, articulated claws. Says Hanagarth, ‘They are jaws, dentures or mouths worn on the arm. They absorb us, eat us or suck us. By the mere act of putting on these bracelets, our hand is gobbled down, devoured, an extremity of the human body is captured.’ The pieces are brutally beautiful surprisingly sensual and extremely wearable!

Sophie Hanagarth – ‘Trap’ (teeth) bracelet in forged iron

 

Do you dare wear Carbon and Horsehair?
Agnes Larsson combines these unlikely yet elemental materials to create dramatic neckpieces. Carbon is a basic material existing in all living things but which we also consider to be dead, burned and charred whilst horsehair is a natural material that has connections to the body and life. Agnes says, ‘In my pieces I see opposites like alive and dead, darkness and light, surface and depth, fragility and strength.’

Agnes Larsson – Back of ‘Carbo’ neckpiece in carbon and horsehair

 

Can severed swords become jewels to adorn the body?
Bernhard Lehner describes his jewellery as ‘symbolic disarmament’: weapons deconstructed – literally sawn apart – and then reformed as pieces of provacative jewellery, instruments of destruction recreated as desirable decoration for the body.

Bernhard Lehner – Belt made from a colt revolver from the Spanish civil war, sawn in pieces

 

 

But Matters of Life and Death isn’t all about doom and gloom. If you’re worried that our exhibition is going to bring you down, we’ve also selected jewellers whose work is energetic, creative and joyful to lift the spirits including colourful post apocalyptic mosaic tree brooches by Samantha Queen and vibrant, creative avant garde work by Lina Peterson that injects a literal ray of sunshine.

Lina Peterson- ‘Greenish’ brooch in mixed media, silver and 18ct gold

Finally, humourous highlights courtesy of Akiko Kurihara whose playful punning pieces charm and engage, and Peter Vermandere with gargoyle inspired pearl pins enigmatically titled ‘emotions for the advanced’.

Akiko Kurihara- ‘Gem’ rings in silver and glass – (I put the glass beads on the position of the gemstone cuts)

Peter Vermandere- ‘Freestyle Atomics’ brooch made from parts of the Expo 1958 Atomium building in Brussels. Aluminium with garnet crystals on matrix 

Says curator Kath Libbert, ‘I wanted to curate an exhibition that reflects on destruction both natural and man-made, as this is a huge preoccupation in our world at the moment, but also an exhibition that explores the possibilities for regeneration, hope and humour. We’re also inviting visitors to be photographed wearing a piece that moves, excites, revolts…and to record their response on our ever growing Chain of Thought which will become an integral part of the exhibition. We hope you will feel compelled to make a visit, it’s a matter of life and death! ’

There will be a Collectors Event with keynote speakers to accompany the exhibition in September. For details please contact the gallery.

Angela O’Keefe. – ‘Ice Skating in the Dark’ Ring series salt crystals, resin, pigment, silver

Artists taking part in Matters of Life and Death are:

Sophie Hanagarth — Agnes Larsson — Bernhard Lehner — Peter Vermandere — Lina Peterson — Samantha Queen — Akiko Kurihara – Gisbert Stach — Angela O’Keefe.

 

 

Gisbert Stach – Tree necklace

 

Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery
Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford BD18 3LA.(UK)
Tel/Fax [phone]
Email:[e-mail]

EXPO ‘Cut, Braid, Knit, Fold’ – Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery, Saltaire (UK) – 23 Mai-1er Juill. 2011

showcase Cut, Braid, Knit, Fold which puts a focus on traditional craft techniques used to create unusual contemporary jewellery. The showcase runs until 1st July 2011.

Featuring:
Anthony Roussel – Cut,
Anke Hennig - Braid,
Blanka Sperkova - Knit and
Rachel Darbourne - Fold.

Ambitious creativity meets traditional techniques in this fashion forward showcase of wearable and affordable work by four contemporary jewellers.
 BRAID
Inspired by 19^th Century braiding techniques, Anke Hennig works in fine threads of coloured nylon and silk to create curvaceous three-dimensional forms from wound flat braids.
CUT
Crisp, precise rings that create undulating fan-like shapes on the hand.
It is the British coastline that inspires Anthony Roussel’s laser cut birch wood jewellery.
 FOLD
Looking like extravagant Elizabethan ruffled cuffs, Rachel Darbourne’s folded bracelets and necklaces are a feat of recycling: carefully folded from polythene bags, they are colourful and fun to wear.
KNIT
The prize for eccentric making technique goes to Blanka Sperkova, who finger-knits wire into both free sculptures and jewellery, creating delicate, witty, multi-dimensional pieces.
 
 
Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery
Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford BD18 3LA (UK)
TEL/FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.kathlibbertjewellery.co.uk
Open Daily 10 – 5.30 Mon – Fri and 10 – 6 Weekends

COUP de COEUR ! Sam Tho DUONG

Entre fruits, éléments organiques mystérieux, marins, végétaux ou animaux, intrigants, attirants, voire appétissants …. ce sont les bijoux de Sam Tho DUONG

Margherita Antinori, de « ComeunaGazzaladra » l’exprime très bien :  « gioielli come radici, alghe e fondali marini » ……….

Sam Tho Duong- ‘Ginger’ brooch in silver and nylon with dyed coral stones  (Foto: Petra Jaschke)

Sam Tho Duong- ‘Ginger’ brooch in silver and nylon with serpentine stones

« ‘Ginger’ is a collection inspired by an exploration of my family roots. I am from Vietnam though I have lived in Germany since I was a teenager. Ginger has many special properties. Its intense aroma is used to enhance flavours in food and drinks and also for healing. I work with the basic root formation and then develop this through the use of colour and stones. »

The aesthetic-Asian view of nature embodied in the work of Sam Tho Duong was one of the key reasons why the 2009 Herbert Hofmann jury decided to award Sam the top prize in the most coveted design competition in the international jewellery scene. His competition necklace was made in the form of twigs from which hung grape-like bunches of blossom. « This piece of jewellery seems to be inspired by the overwhelming fullness of a branch laden down with blossom, » was one of the comments by the jury.
The Herbert Hofmann Prize has been presented each year since 1973 as part of the special exhibition SCHMUCK at the Internationale Handwerksmesse in Munich. This annual award, sponsored each year by GHM, Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen, is presented to up to three participants in the exhibition. Alongside the usual catalogue on the current exhibition, for this year´s 50th anniversary a special documentation has been published about all the prize-winners since 1973. (Kath Libbert Jewellery gallery)

Sam Tho Duong -  necklace

Sam Tho Duong-

Sam Tho Duong -  brooch

 

Sam Tho Duong « Look brooch », 2010 – silver, freshwater pearls, nylon (photo: Petra Jaschke) 

 

EXPO ‘IntoFlora’ – Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery, Saltaire (UK) – 15 Juill-26 Sept 2010

IntoFlora -  AN EXHIBITION OF EXUBERANT FLORAL JEWELLERY 

« A perennial inspiration for great paintings and poems, from Van Gogh’s vibrant sunflowers to Wordsworth’s golden daffodils and Georgia O’Keefe’s suggestive blossoms, flowers are beautiful, sensual, dangerous and pure.  As tokens of love and worship, instruments of seduction or gifts of remembrance, flowers play a powerful role in the way we express emotion.
In an exploration of the creative inspiration of all things blooming, Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery is launching IntoFlora, an exhibition of contemporary jewellery on a floral theme featuring eight international jewellery artists, curated by Kath Libbert.
Kath Libbert, renowned for her imaginative approach to curating contemporary jewellery, has added a playful aspect to IntoFlora, asking each artist to create a special floral tribute to a famous individual who has inspired them, called I’m Into….
Says Kath Libbert, ‘The work of the eight artists I’ve chosen is truly a floral feast for the eyes! And as a bonus their I’m Into… pieces offer a fascinating insight into their processes of inspiration.’  »

 

The artists and their Inspiration:

Up-and-coming British jeweller Mikaela Lyons has created a sumptuously colourful collaged body sculpture in honour of Florence Welch  of Florence and The Machine. Says Mikaela, ‘The piece encompasses ideas of woman, mother nature and empowerment.’

Mikaela Lyons - For Florence Welch necklace & ring- oxidised copper, acrylic, illustration, beads, ribbon, sequins

Jeweller Ana Hagopian from Barcelona presents Campanula, a delicately beautiful tribute to Cate Blanchett – a myriad of purple paper blossoms that sit gracefully on the body.

Ana Hagopian- For Cate Blanchett ‘Campanula’ necklace- paper and twine

Natalya Pinchuk, (Russia/USA) makes fantastical jewellery installations from wool, leather, plastic and artificial hair, that both compel and disturb. She cites her inspirational person as the American food activist and author of The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan.

Natalya Pinchuk- ‘Growth Series’ brooch – wool, copper, enamel, plastic, plastic grapes, leather, waxed thread, steel 

Natalya Pinchuk-  For Michael Pollan, brooch – wool, leather, copper, enamel, brass, plastic, stainless steel, gold, thread

Selina Campbell, (UK) makes her own homage to interiors guru and fabric designer Tricia Guild, whose own designs feature strong floral elements. Selina incorporated dyed freshwater pearls for a splash of colour into a formalised graphic dahlia design. On being asked for her reaction to the necklace, Tricia said she “was very touched to have provided inspiration…..and dahlias are one of my favourite flowers!”

Selina Campbell- For Tricia Guild ‘Dahlia’ necklace in oxidised silver and dyed pearl

Japanese jewellery maker Masayuki Nagata creates large blossoms from chemically rusted iron, which he then intricately decorates. For this show, he has used camelia buds to form a ring and necklace in honour of the Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara. He says, ‘Like Che, I share the desire to change things.’

Masayuki Nagata- ‘Flower’ brooches embossed rusted iron and paper

Lisa Juen, (Germany/China), chooses as her inspirational person the provocative Canadian rock star Peaches – whose extreme performances push boundaries in the same way that Lisa Juen’s jewellery does. Lisa makes illuminated flashing neon statement floral jewellery, often using false nails as petals. ‘My fascination with light paired with the imagery of the flower, the symbol of femininity, seduction, sex and strength, found strong support and inspiration in Peaches’ performance.’

Lisa Juen- ’Ling Bling’ brooch from ‘Yesterday Is a Different Day’ series, in steel, fake nails, cubic zirconia.

Lisa Juen- For Peaches ‘Pussy Brooch’ brooch in steel, cubic zirconia, LED, light switch

Anna Atterling is a Swedish designer who has chosen the director of Cirkus Cirkör, Tilde Björfors. In homage to Tilde, Anna has made a silver crown, which she describes as ‘light, special and sensitive, to match a queen like her.’Says Anna, ‘She is an amazing person. She really makes changes and works with all her heart to make the world a better place.’

Anna Atterling-  For Tilde Björfors repoussé silver Crown

Anna Atterling- Floral necklaces – repoussé oxidised silver

Ines Schwotzer’s, (Germany), work is inspired by nature – she uses traditional lace-making techniques to shape steel wire into floral forms and textures that express growing and fading, opening and closing, frailty and tightness. For this project, she has chosen Van Gogh as her inspirational person and has of course made the most exquisite sunflower!

Ines Schwotzer- For Vincent van Gogh ‘Sunflower’ brooch in steel wire bobbin lace

Ines Schwotzer- Necklace in steel wire bobbin lace

 

Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery
2nd Floor, Salts Mill
BD18 3LA – Saltaire (UK)
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
website: www.kathlibbertjewellery.co.uk
mail: [e-mail]