…to pull a rabbit out of a hat… 2011

The rabbits depicted in this neckpiece look so peaceful, that I almost want to pet them. The things that are stopping me are the surrounding flowers, with their bright red enamel centers and square-edged leaves. They seem to protect the rabbits. The animals look like they might be wild, situated in a field, but the title ‘…to pull a rabbit out of a hat…’ gives away their captivity. They have come out of the hat and are now free to roam. One bunny is on the look out, turning its’ ears, while the other rabbit is relaxing- such a cozy sight!

Lately I have learned that rabbits like to be petted a lot (my son was very determent to have one for his birthday) and rabbits seem to follow me ever since. But probably not as much as German artist Tabea Reulecke, the majority of her work revolves around rabbits. It is amazing how much expression she puts in her bunnies! Her pieces come in various forms, often including beautiful enamel drawings like this one.

To celebrate the year of the rabbit, Tabea Reulecke has a solo exhibition at ATTA Gallery, in Bankok, Thailand from Februari 19th (tonight!) until March 15th 2011.

The exhibition is also displayed on Klimt02.





Our own sweet little bunny :):

The last post of 2010.

It has been really quiet on this blog, because it has been very busy for me. To let you know what has caught my eye lately, here are, in random order, some images and a few words for this last post of 2010.


David Huycke has crowned his research on ‘The Metamorphic Ornament: Re-Thinking Granulation‘ with a PHD. Congratulations, very well done!

Wouldn’t it be great to try on the work of Benjamin Lignel? It was possible at his exhibition ‘Essayage/ fitting room’ in Luxemburg. I found out about this via the Klimt02 website.


A call for submissions for a new book entitled ‘Humor in Craft’ put together by Brigitte Martin, creator and Chief Editor of crafthaus. Deadline: March 1st 2011.


The wonderful ‘Opale Fatale’- collection by Joke Quick, fatal to me!


The LICHTEST exhibition, a special mix of Belgian and Estonian jewelry, curated by Aline Vandeplas. You can still go and see for yourself, it is on until December 30th 2010 in Bruges, Belgium!


Transgression, a brooch by Angela Tölken one of many at her exhibition in the Stellenbosch University Art Gallery, in Stellenbosch, South Africa.


Silke&thegallery has celebrated it’s 5th birthday with a happening: Every artist that once exhibited, showed work that had already been in the gallery, AND a recent piece!


At Confrontations 17-11-2010 organized by St. Lucas Antwerp Jewelry department I met the three busy ladies that form ‘Kasboek collectief’. They are a jewelry, graphic and fine artist and to do projects together, inspiring.


And last but not least, Friday the 24th of December is the last day of broesvi FOR LIFE! Order a children’s jewel at broesvi.com and all profit will help orphans in southern Africa built a better life. It makes children from everywhere happy!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Materiamorfosi: shopping bags

It has been summer holiday, a time to travel, go sightseeing, and RELAX. We went on a familytrip to Italy, and started in Rome. The boys really wanted to see the ancient Colosseum in the south (it spoke to their imagination) but were also happy to visit the contemporary Maxxi-museum in the north (they thought the banister was designed as a marble-track ☺). In between I wanted to make a stop, not to go shopping, but to visit the Alternatives Gallery! In the old centre, the small gallery is almost hidden in one of the tiny streets. Inside, there is a great collection of wonderful works though! I did not know where to look first…

Alternatives has artist from all over the world, but also some that are very close to home, like Margherita Marchioni. Her neckpiece ‘Materiamorfosi:shopping bags’ stood out to me. It attracted my attention because of its’ colorfulness, which felt refreshing after the ancient buildings we visited. I wondered if the neckpiece was made out of sweets, and was surprised to find it was made from shopping bags! In all her work, Margherita Marchioni recycles everyday objects, without actually changing the material. The shopping bags have been cut into strips, rolled and bundled together with differently colored ones to start a new life. It is still basically the same thin plastic, once used to carry shopping with, only worn in a wonderful altered way. For me, it was great to see some ‘local’ work, and what makes it even better, is that its’ made out of local products! I always cherish the shopping bags brought back from a trip as a kind of souvenir…. (for a while)

Aesthetic Nutrition

How does nutrition, on a socio-economic level and in its’ most basic form, relate to the aesthetic values of today’s society? This question can only come from Ana Cardim, who has a passion to make interactive, sociable jewelry-art. This takes shape in her recent project “Aesthetic Nutrition”.

The project consists of a video, projected on a wall, three heaps of rice, chopsticks and three bowls containing one, two and three hand-made rice grains. Each grain is made from pure gold, weighs half a gram, and has the economic value of about 15 kilos of eatable dry rice. (How many grains would that be?) In total, the project exists of three grams of gold, enough for a beautiful gold ring, and 90 kilo’s of rice, which can provide a meal for 1800 people! In the video you’ll see a girl trying to eat it all… Everyone that visited ‘Aesthetic Nutrition’ was given a cup filled with delicious rice-pudding.

With her project ‘Aesthetic Nutrition’, Ana Cardim seeks attention for the idea of the difference in quantity, and levels of value, between the esthetic value of gold and the value given to the basic human need for food.
I am glad this project touches the subject of discrepancy in value and quantity from an aesthetic point of view. The rice-colored, ceramic bowls that contain the golden grains, are shaped like up-side-down rice heaps and make a good visual contrast with the actual heaps of rice. The chopsticks both separate and connect the two, underlining the visual link. The video shown on the wall, completes the display. The action of handing out cups of rice-pudding causes the viewer to connect to the exhibit. How can you resist thinking about the subject, when looking at the serene beauty of the whole set-up, whilst eating yummie pudding!

The launch of the ‘Aesthetic Nutrition’ project happened on the 6th of July, and was commissioned by Bypass, an art magazine that invites artists to write about their work. The second magazine is due to be released in October 2010 and will contain an extensive article by Ana Cardim.

‘Aesthetic Nutrition’ was held in Appleton Square, which is a multivalent space geared towards diverse artistic manifestations and towards the sharing of multidisciplinary experiences. It was the first time that they had work on display by a jewelry designer!

Panic

Every once in a while something crosses my path that is interesting, but not strictly jewelry. That‘s the case with this piece ‘Panic’ by Sweden’s Anders Ljungberg. He is a silversmith who is interested is the relationship between a functional object and its’ user and their environment. His motto is: “We are defining objects, objects are defining us.” His particular interest is in handles, as they often are the link between object and user. Their position on the object dictates the way it is used.

Handles play a very important role in the work ‘Panic’ too. It exists of a silver jug and a table that have started living their own lives. This jug did not have handles, so it decided to cut off the legs of the table it is standing on and use them as a handle and a leg for itself. The jug has a solid base and a good chance of being held by its’ handle. But now, it has left the table leaning over to one side, causing danger of the jug sliding off!
I guess this is where Anders Ljungberg pictures the user coming to the rescue. Instead of the jug being there for the use of its’ owner, the owner/user has to be there to save the jug! I really like the way the piece demands interaction. The jug is clearly the starting point of this work, and mixes with the table in a funny way. Quite urgently, the potential user has to become part of the work. Panic all round!

This piece was one of many discussed in a talk held by Anders Ljungberg, which part of the symposium ‘Fine Silver: Lectures on Contemporary Metal’ at the PHL- University College in Hasselt, Belgium on the 29th of May. The lectures were held in context of the honorary doctorate that was awarded to Michael Rowe the day before!

(For the die-hard fans of this blog: What do you get when you have Alert and an Apocalyse: Panic! ☺)