FROM OUR RESERVE HOLDINGS INAUGURATION OF A NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITION ROOM DEVOTED TO CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY OPENING ON OCTOBER 19, 2012

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1 FROM OUR RESERVE HOLDINGS INAUGURATION OF A NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITION ROOM DEVOTED TO CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY OPENING ON OCTOBER 19, 2012

2 PRESS KIT Lausanne, October 2012 FROM OUR RESERVE HOLDINGS INAUGURATION OF A NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITION ROOM DEVOTED TO CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Opening on October 19, 2012 PRESS CONFERENCE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012, 2 PM IN THE PRESENCE OF CAROLE GUINARD, IN CHARGE OF THE COLLECTION MEDIA CONTACT Danaé Panchaud, Public Relations , danae.panchaud@lausanne.ch Visuals available at (login: presse2012/images2012) CONTENTS Press release p. 3 Creators p. 4-8 The collections of the mudac and of the Confederation p. 9 Practical information and available visuals p View of the exhibition What is it that renders contemporary jewelry pieces precious? 2

3 FROM OUR RESERVE HOLDINGS INAUGURATION OF A NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITION ROOM DEVOTED TO CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Opening on October 19, 2012 Two remarkable jewelry collections are in safekeeping at the mudac: the mudac s and the Swiss Confederation s, for which the mudac makes regular acquisitions. Strong of almost 200 pieces, these collections reflect the developments marking a realm eternally in effervescence. The mudac becomes the first museum in Switzerland to dedicate a permanent exhibition room to contemporary jewelry. This latest gallery, in the Gaudard room, bearing witness of the history of the building, serves to showcase collection previously hidden to the public. It is also intended for periodic shows featuring a selection of works from our ceramics and design collections. Visitors will discover these varied objects in a succession of thematic exhibitions, with a first show under the heading of What is it that renders contemporary jewelry precious? WHAT IS IT THAT RENDERS CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY PIECES PRECIOUS? The traditional definition of a jewel is that of a finely worked small object rendered precious by the material itself or the work entailed, and serving as an ornamental accessory. When contemporary jewelers use traditional metals to create ornamental accessories, they defy convention by scratching or brushing the gold, or by blackening the silver, aging it or depriving it of its gloss. The resulting patina in both cases is a far cry from the brilliant finish generally associated with Western jewelry. When, however, they resort to base materials, it is their manner of transcending these that renders the pieces precious. They will, for instance, turn plastic wrap into a pearl, a bank note into a cameo. Our consumer society s daily scraps are brought back to life as jewelry pieces in all their splendor. Moreover, the ingenuity of some of these jewelry designers has led them to come up with new attachment systems, to reinvent clips for jewelry pieces that integrate them into the body or garment to which they belong in ever more elaborate fashion. And yet, above and beyond all these considerations, what all these creations have in common is the painstaking work-manship that they entail. Every one of them bears witness to the intelligence of the hands that shaped them. CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Already in the 60s, contemporary jewelry freed itself from what by then was deemed a devitalized tradition, and from industrial production subservient to market laws. Instead, jewelry creators claimed an artistic status born of a wide aesthetic spectrum: from purist minimalism to unbridled fantasy, from abstraction to figuration. Many from their ranks aimed beyond the purely decorative, concerning themselves instead with the social, cultural and relational ramifications of jewelry. By the 80s, contemporary jewelry turned openly anti-establishment. Exploring its limits, resorting at times to performances and installations, it drew closer to contemporary art. Over the last twenty years, however, contemporary jewelry has evolved from manifesto-like stands alone towards, as well, personal claims on behalf of the individual as much for the jewelry s designers as for whoever acquires it. THE MAISON GAUDARD: FROM THE GOLSMITHS OF YORE TO THE JEWELERS OF TODAY The mudac moved into the Maison Gaudard in June This venue groups several buildings whose oldest remains hark back to the 13th century. Relevant sources discolose some of its proprietors, including a number of goldsmiths: for the east row, there is mention of Pierre and his brother Jean, who may have commissioned the north house between 1261 and A goldsmith named Perrot Dorer lived here from the end of the 13th century to about As to the west row, the record show that Mermet Périsset and his family were in residence there from 1386 until the second half of the 15th century. When, in 2012, one of the building s oldest room showcased the contemporary jewlery collections of both the museum and Confederation, past and present at last met up with each other. 3

4 JEWELRY DESIGNERS DAVID BIELANDER 1968, CH lives and works in Munich exhibiting since1996 Animal representations abound in classic jewelry: René Lalique s butterfly brooches come rapidly to mind, or Cartier s famous panther. Not to mention the countless sapphire-eyed owls showcased by conventional jewelry shops. Still and all, David Bielander s jewelry pieces are absolutely perfect illusions, more in the vein of hyperrealist concerns. It is with outstanding virtuosity that he first shapes a bestiary and then chisels the pieces out of fine plates of silver. One can only wonder if it is his sense of humor that has him set slugs near a young lady s décolleté... David Bielander, Scampi, 2008 Bracelet, copper stained silver, rubber bands JOHANNA DAHM 1947, CH lives and works in Zurich exhibiting since 1973 Johanna Dahm, fast Ashanti, 2006 Ring, silver, gold I wanted to work with light itself. Gold is light, the light of the sun. I wanted to work with fire and the gold melting furnace. (Johanna Dahm, Lost and Found, Ein Ashanti-Weg der Ringe, Zurich, Niggli Verlag,1999). It is in this spirit that Johanna Dahm left for Ghana in 1997, for a two-month-long apprenticeship with the private jeweler to the king of the Ashantis. Upon her return to Zurich, she created her own lost-wax melting technique, combining African know-how with more modern methods. This process, used since the dawn of time, requires a sculpture to first be shaped in wax and then cast in clay. The spectacular specialty of the Ashantis is that of accomplishing the melting of the wax in a single step, and then filling the cavity with the molten metal. One can only stand in admiration of Johanna Dahm s knack for, on the one hand, using the smelting technique to directly set the diamonds and, on the other, creating rings enmeshed with each other without the slightest soldering. 4

5 SOPHIE HANAGARTH 1968, CH lives and works in Paris exhibiting since 1994 Sophie Hanagarth, Toison aux pattes d or, 2004 Scarf necklace, wire, gilt brass The necklace Bretzel was born through repeated beating, hammering, stamping and bending. The iron shafts curl into scrolls, twist together thanks to the stamping plate and pliers. A chimera lies at rest. The world according to Sophie Hanagarth combines folk culture with classical mythology. Burettes (testicles) belongs to a series of jewelry pieces that transpose the body part for which they are destined. They have the dual task of ornamenting and underscoring a person s anatomy. The extremities of this pendant reach out to frame the pubis of the person wearing them, thus completing the family jewels rather unexpectedly! By so-to-speak showcasing what is usually hidden, it exalts fertility. Fleece with Gold Paws is intended to be worn like the rabbit s fur cape ladies used to favor on chilly winter evenings. Presented still hopping in show windows, the animal is divested of all life once we don his hide. The name of the piece in French, Toison d Or, or Golden Fleece brings to mind Greek mythology: the story of the ram stolen by Jason during his quest. Nonetheless, certain details invite other allusions: in various cultures, rabbit s feet serve as talismans because rabbits are associated with fertility; in former times, they were also used by gold beaters to pick up little bits of scattered metal after work hours. AURÉLIE DELLASANTA 1980, CH lives and works in Geneva exhibiting since 2002 Aurélie Dellasanta hunts around and rummages about to flush out abandoned, everyday objects; these she gathers together to give them a new significance. Her jewelry pieces deal recurrently with the themes of death, misery, consumer demand and religion. The paper money either re-embroidered or set with rhinestones in her brooches alludes to more than the economy and consumer society. She is also denouncing Western values and the exploitation of Africa s mineral resources. In her rosary piece, rifles and grenades punctuate a gruesome prayer, the last verse of which ends with an embroidered cross. The contrast between the highly attractive pendant with its embroidered and sparkling elements and the piece s thematic combination of war and religion is most striking. Aurélie Dellasanta, Warrior s rosary, 2008 Pendant, silver, embroideries, garnets 5

6 OTTO KÜNZLI 1948, CH lives and works in Munich exhibiting since 1969 Otto Künzli can be considered as one of the masters of conceptual jewelry. His defiant stands have earned him the esteem of both the realm of contemporary jewelry as a whole, and several generations of creators who followed his course at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He is wont to approach both the obvious and the failings of today s society with irony and cynicism; he refuses to heed conventions. His aesthetic outlook favors utmost simplicity and remains closely linked to a jewelry piece s function. For his 1987 creation of a Gold makes you blind bracelet, he hid a ball of gold inside a rubber tube. This striking shortcut challenges the ostentatious functions of conventional jewelry to convey power and social status. It suggests another way of seeing what renders the piece precious, something of which only the bracelet s owner is aware. Cozticteocuitlatl is an Aztec expression for the yellow feces of the gods. It is, too, a group of 121 pendants created between 1995 and 1998, 17 of which belong to the. In the simplicity and symmetry of these perfectly proportioned jewels, and in the materials used gold and silver, they seem to hark far back in time. Their shapes may seem archetypal to us, yet they derive inspiration from bits of information that the Western eye takes in daily, emanating from the folk culture or advertising of our consumer society Mickey, Batman or familiar logos like McDonald s. Otto Künzli also culls visual information belonging to our collective imaginary. He offers us his series of emblems in the manner of an archaeological museum presenting its treasures. Otto Künzli, Gold makes you blind, 1987 Bracelet, gold, rubber SONIA MOREL 1968, CH lives and works inlausanne exhibiting since 1989 Sonia Morel unflaggingly unwinds and rewinds silver wire or silk thread. In her work, thread or wire creates volume or strokes, resulting in spidery nests or beaded cocoons. The infinite patience and gestural mastery that she puts into her pieces makes them the embodiment of time itself. These long hours of painstaking work, like a remnant of past eras, render her jewelry precious. Sonia Morel, Bracelet, 1999 Bracelet. Blackened silver 6

7 VERENA SIEBER-FUCHS Verena Sieber-Fuchs, Noce, 1985 Necklace. Butcher paper, wire 1943, CH lives and works in Zurich exhibiting since 1967 Jewelry pieces by Verena Sieber-Fuchs operate their charm immediately. They consist of repurposed materials for instance paper, onion skin, confetti, medical capsules that are enhanced by the brutal treatment sometimes applied to them: cutting or tearing them up, transpiercing or burning them, and then patiently crocheting a very fine wire through them. A patient alchemist who transmutes materials, Verena Sieber-Fuchs aims beyond a merely aesthetic impact. Quite to the contrary, each piece subtly veils the artist s underlying personal concerns or commitments. Here we have a light and floating, soft pink wedding ornament made of butcher paper: the piece provides a total contrast between the freshness of the bride and the death of the animal. BERNHARD SCHOBINGER 1946, CH lives and works in Richterswil exhibiting since 1973 In his work, Bernhard Schobinger rebel, innovator and individualist expresses his feelings about Western society and its trash goods. His favorite materials are those that are salvaged, that come from garbage dumps and thus have a story behind them. He is partial to combining base and precious materials, and selects his rubbish pieces with an eye to their particular texture, shape or color. He then proceeds to breathe new life into them. His Bottlenecklace comes in several different versions. Already in 1988, he created a similar piece, consisting of a red cotton cord bearing twelve fragments of bottles from a garbage dump near a former Ticino grand hotel. No reassuring or tender creation this: providing broken glass shards to ornament someone s neck is more of a violent action. And choosing to wear it, is to challenge conventions. Bernhard Schobinger, Bottlenecklace, 2002 (detail) Necklace, bottlenecks, cotton 7

8 CHRISTOPH ZELLWEGER 1962, CH lives and works in Zurich exhibiting since 1990 Christophe Zellweger s work refers to the body the body that he sees as subject to manipulation for medical and aesthetic reasons. He is undeniably fascinated by anatomy, by the inside of the very body outside of which his jewelry pieces alight. A play between in- and outside. To look carefully at Rhizome, where all the paths are dead ends but nonetheless come together into a network, is to realize that no two are alike. Rhizome follows an evolutionary principle, spreading out like a root system. It took Christophe Zellweger hours, from the first sketches to the computer drawing, to come up with this network. This series of jewelry pieces was created using industrial processes like laser and water-jet cutting. The elasticity of the natural rubber makes it easy to slide on the bracelets. Christoph Zellweger, Rhizome, 2006 Bracelet, natural rubber 8

9 THE CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY COLLECTIONS OF THE MUDAC AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION Since the first pieces acquired by Rosemarie Lippuner during the 80s, these two jewelry collections in safekeeping at the mudac remarkably reflect the developments marking a realm eternally in effervescence. The collection field for jewelry pieces is vast, so that the criteria for their acquisition must lend them a certain coherence. Those added to our collection have been evaluated on the basis of their creativity, on how well they reflect current trends, the research aspects of innovation and continuity, and the nationality of their creator. The Swiss Confederation s Collection is built up most especially with an eye to the winners or experts designated by the Swiss Federal Design Competition. The mudac s Collection encompasses, among others, pieces created in small series, thus favoring norms akin to design. Acquisitions spanning several years now ensure that the two collections complete each other. Likewise, in some cases the policy has been to acquire several pieces by one and the same jewelry designer, to best bring to the fore the evolution of his or her work. On several occasions, too, pieces by today s emerging designers have been welcomed into the collection. Most of the jewelry designers represented in our collections are Swiss. Nonetheless, their work is highly representative of a movement whose departure point harks back to the Europe of some fifty years ago ACQUISITIONS 2008 Acquisitions of the Swiss Confederation At the request of Patrizia Crivelli of the Federal Office of Culture, design department, and in collaboration with her, Carole Guinard proposed the acquisition of jewelry pieces by Andi Gut, Johanna Dahm, Sonia Morel, Esther Brinkmann, Sophie Hanagarth and David Bielander. These pieces had been featured in the exhibition De main à main, apprendre et transmettre dans le bijou contemporain européen at the mudac. Sixteen pieces from major Swiss designers were thus incorporated in this collection Acquisitions of the mudac The collection was enriched by the acquisition of a second silver ring by Hans Stofer (2004), as well as two rings by Fabrice Schaefer and two brooches by Aurélie Dellasanta (also previously featured in the exhibition De main à main). Fabrice Schaefer is in charge of the jewelry section of Geneva University of Art and Design and Aurélie Dellasanta has been her student. The theme of transmission, developed in the exhibition, is thus present in the collection of the mudac as well Acquisitions of the Swiss Confederation At the request of the Federal Office of Culture, and in collaboration with Patrizia Crivelli, the mudac proposed the acquisition of pieces by Otto Künzli (16 pendants of the series Cozticteocuitlatl, ), Bernhard Schobinger (a brooch and a necklace, both 2002), Monika Strasser (six pieces, ) and Natalie Luder, laureate of the 2009 Swiss Federal Design Awards (a necklace, ) Acquisitions of the mudac The collection was enriched by the acquisition of pieces by Sophie Hanagarth, the Bretzel necklace in wrought iron ( ), and by Luzia Vogt, a ceramics and silver ring (2007) and a ceramics, silver and gold brooch (2008) Acquisitions of the mudac Two pieces by Suzanne Klemm, a Swiss jewelry designer born in 1965 and who has lived and work in Amsterdam for numerous years: the Frozen necklace (of the Frozen series) and the Nest necklace, both in polyolefin, from Acquisitions of the Swiss Confederation The Federal Office of Culture appointed again the mudac to select several contemporary jewelry pieces for its collection: a pendant and six brooches by Therese Hilbert, a designer from Zurich who lives and works in Munich, two pendants by Sonia Morel, a necklace by Aurélie Dellasanta and pendants by Kiko Gianocca, who lives and works in Lugano Acquisitions of the mudac The collection was enriched by the acquisition of pieces made of blackened silver by Valentine Dubois, Swiss designer born in 1972 who lives and works in La Chaux-de-Fonds: a necklace, a brooch and three rings, Valentine Dubois additionally donated two pendants (2001) to the museum. These seven pieces are together very representative of her work based on geometry and folding. 9

10 PRACTICAL INFORMATION Exhibition curator and designer: Carole Guinard, in charge of the contemporary jewelry collections Press conference Opening Exhibition Guided tours Opening hours Contact details Media contact Friday, October 19, 2012 at 2 pm Friday, October 19, 2012 at 6 pm. Official ceremony at 6:30pm From October 20, 2012, on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 et February 27, 2013 at pm Tu-Sun 11am-6pm. Open on holidays (incl. Mondays), and Mondays in July and August mudac musée de design et d arts appliqués contemporains Place de la Cathédrale 6 CH-1005 Lausanne t f info@mudac.ch Danaé Panchaud t danae.panchaud@lausanne.ch Susanne Klemm, Frozen, 2007 Necklace, polyolefin 10

11 AVAILABLE VISUALS The high-resolution visuals are available at (login : presse2012/images2012). View of the exhibition What is it that renders contemporary jewelry pieces precious?, Photography mudac. David Bielander, Scampi, 2008 Bracelet, copper stained silver, rubber bands Diameter 10 cm. Photography David Bieler Johanna Dahm, fast Ashanti, 2006 Ring. Silver, gold. Clay cast. 2.5 x 4 x 1 cm (ring) Photography Christophe Press/CEPV Sophie Hanagarth, Toison aux pattes d or, 2004 Scarf necklace. Wire, gilt brass 70 x 11 x 0.5 cm Photography Natacha Girard/CEPV Otto Künzli, Gold makes you blind, 1987 Bracelet. Gold, rubber Diameter. 8.3 cm Photography Olivier Laffely/AN Sonia Morel, Bracelet, 1999 Bracelet. Blackened silver Diameter 7.5 cm / H 4.5 cm Collection of the mudac Photography Sylviane Pittet/AN Verena Sieber-Fuchs, Noce, 1985 Necklace. Butcher paper, wire Diameter 42 cm. Collection of the mudac Photography Olivier Laffely/AN Bernhard Schobinger, Bottlenecklace, 2002 (detail) Necklace. Bottlenecks, cotton Photography Alain Kissling, Lausanne Christoph Zellweger, Rhizome, 2006 Bracelet. Natural rubber 10.5 x 13.5 cm Julie Varcin/CEPV Aurélie Dellasanta, Warrior s rosary, 2008 Pendent. Silver, embroideries, garnets Photography Aurélie Dellasanta Susanne Klemm, Frozen, 2007 Necklace. Polyolefin 38 x 38 x 7 cm Collection of the mudac Photography Marie Humair/AN Aurélie Dellasanta, In Gold We Trust, 2005 Brooch. Brass, paper, banknote 3.1 x 5.5 x 1.3 cm Collection of the mudac Photography Aurélie Dellasanta Abbreviations : AN = Atelier de numérisation de la Ville de Lausanne. CEPV = Centre d enseignement professionnel de Vevey 11