From March 8th till March 14th Munich Jewellery Week showcased avant-garde contemporary jewellery by established and up-and-coming designers from all over the world. This yearly gathering is by far the most significant event on contemporary jewellery’s calendar; it’s a unique phenomenon which plays a pacemaking role in the contemporary jewellery field. Hundreds of makers, students, educators and collectors come from all over the world to be inspired by this diverse programme that ranges from artist-run exhibitions, book launches and lectures to performances, mobile presentations and parties.
Over the past decade, the gradual and organic expansion of the independent city exhibitions has boomed to a remarkable 90+ initiatives, establishing a self-ruled dynamic community of local and international artists. One of this year’s highlights was the exhibition of the iconic Central Saint Martins, Off the Shelf, at Vitsœ. Both professors and students exhibited as equals, presenting a range of materials and objects. They demonstrated their understanding of the social life of jewellery by approaching jewellery as a conversation between object and body, and wearer and viewer. Another fascinating show, The Cat Did It, at Micheko Galerie, where Akiko Kurihara showcased her wearable and quite playful jewellery pieces full with hidden meanings and humor. And of course, Die Neue Sammlung (The Design Museum) has devoted a huge retrospective to the grande dame of Scandinavian studio jewellery, Tone Vigeland. It was her first solo show on the European continent outside Scandinavia, 50 years after her first solo presentation took place 1967 in Kunstnerneshus in Oslo. And these were only three of 90+ exciting exhibtions.
To see these and other groundbreaking exhibitions, the guests were invited to follow the bright blue MJW street signs spread around the city of Munich to all the special events with the Map designed exclusively by Current Obsession. Also, the special MJW Paper was released with all the necessary information and was spread in different locations in the city.
HIGHLIGHTS OF MJW 2017:
Off the Shelf – an exhibition of work by staff and students of Central Saint Martins, BA Jewellery Design course. For a second year running, the designers returned to show at Vitsœ in Munich. The exhibition followed on from a series of projects where staff and students have displayed their work together in a celebration of the diverse and lively approach to contemporary jewellery and objects.
BA Jewellery Design approaches the subject of jewellery as a conversation between body and object, with originality and innovation at its heart. Based in the centre of London, we enjoy superb links with industry and encourage our students to engage with the wider social contexts of their work while developing their own creative practices and a diverse set of technical skills.
Mixed Greens – Jewelers'Werk Galerie presented a group exhibition of seven international artist jewelers--mixed media and mixed viewpoints--creating a dynamic and diverse energy. Artists: Jorge Castanon, Bettina Dittlmann, Michael Jank, Rebecca Hannon, Selen Ozus, Flora Vagi, Sayumi Yokouchi.
" The cat did it. " Akiko Kurihara – „I basically believe that jewelry must be worn, but I am very interested in additional value of jewelry. You do not only to wear a jewelry, but you can also play with it. You may realize a hidden meaning of my piece in a casual way at the first glance.“
KONSTELLATIONEN – KONSTELACIE – CONSTELLATION – With Atelier S+M+L_XL Metalwork and Jewelry, Die Neue Sammlung has invited the class from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in the Slovakian capital Bratislava to present their jewelry works at the Pinakothek der Moderne in 2017. That not being enough, the class is also celebrating its 25th anniversary next year. Founded in 1992 by renowned jewelry artist Anton Cepka, one of the fathers of studio jewelry in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it has since 1995 been headed by jewelry artist and architect Karol Weisslechner. The exhibition in Munich has showed examples of student works from the past 15 years for the first time.
ABOUT MUNICH JEWELLERY WEEK: Munich Jewellery Week is an independent initiative that supports, communicates and promotes citywide jewellery exhibitions taking place during the week of the annual Handwerk & Design expo, and its historic jewellery exhibitions: Meister der Moderne, Schmuck and Talente.
The title Munich Jewellery Week was coined in 2015 by Current Obsession, a cross-disciplinary platform and magazine discussing contemporary jewellery in the context of today’s visual culture (www.current-obsession.com) to give a name to this extraordinary collective effort, and associate it to other professional fashion and design weeks around the world. The aim remains to represent the multitude of these impressive independent events as a whole, to give them a recognizable visual identity and to offer clear information to new participants, press and international visitors.