An article that Karl Fritsch wrote in 2006: "I noticed a few years ago that in my jewellery work I´m constantly reworking my own history. I did a traditional jewellery apprenticeship in Pforzheim and learnt all the classical jewellery making techniques. The real learning however, comes afterwards. Now I constantly have to work on how I can make the knowledge I learnt in my apprenticeship my own – how I can create my own statement with this. This involves alot of things - my physical abilities for example (like how I use my fingers to model the rings in wax). The basic physical conditions directly influence how a piece will look (the thickness of my finger or the power of my arm). I keep finding out that my formal aesthetic resources come from way back, not only in objects but also in actions. For example how my family cooks - the way they chuck the dishes around or chop the carrots. or how they handle daily life things like organizing their compost, this has all been an influence on my jewellery. During my studies at the Munich Acadamy I wanted to make disgusting looking jewellery. I wanted it to draw more attention than a pretty piece of jewellery would - this is afterall one of jewellery´s issues – attention and attraction. Now when I look at these pieces after 10 years I find them extremely subtle and beautiful. They are very well made and do not work within the ordinary formula of shape and colour you would expect to find in jewellery. I now am surprised that I had such a big fight with Hermann Jünger about this. I think it must have been more the idea attached to the piece that put him off, rather than the piece itself. How does the ring wish to look? The gold and silver must be sick to be shaped in these variations of barocky and geometric shapes. The ring can be a weapon. My aunties fridge is also dangerous and I describe this in my jewellery. My rings are made from the same neccessity that prevents my aunties from buying a new fridge. They think it is still good enough even though it is completely busted – there´s hardly any shelves left inside, the freezer door is gone and any food stored too close to the freezer starts to freeze. It is out of control and only with alot of practice can you spread your butter just right. It is still a fridge but it´s also miles away from a fridge, and has turned into a thing with a whole new character. It´s not really a weapon now, but close to it. I like my jewellery to be like this - having an individual life with the people that wear it. Wearing and using things changes them." Karl Fritsch

Celebration of the street 'Manifesto of the new jewellery’ If I could fuck a mountain Lord I would fuck a mountain And I'd do it with a woman in the valley (Palace Brothers: The Mountain Low) Contemporary jewellery is dead. It crashed right before our eyes. See how it now hangs from the wall of the gallery, bent, broken, rigor mortis setting in. Protected by the stylized gravediggers of the art world, on display in is transparent coffin, the stench of rot swirling safely behind the glass. The obituary, comme il faut, is subtly disguised as an invitation or included in a catalogue, sustaining the semblance of life a little while longer. At the appointed time the crowd, elegant as always, swoops into the great hall to grace the official ceremony with its presence. Glasses are raised in memory of the deceased, astute analyses exchanged, the lack of recognition lamented. It seems as if everyone, excepting of course those who faithfully attend the High Mass of contemporary jewellery design, is visually impaired. As the jewellery piece was being nailed to the wall it had let rip one last cry for help. Just when everything was going so well, fate had struck. The visual arts just within reach, cruising round the next bend right in front of it instead of the usual full lap ahead. Almost bumper to bumper... All it needed was the extra spurt in a game of catch up that had started somewhere in the heroic nineteen sixties. What hadn't it done in the intervening years to fall into the good graces of its devotees? Its reputation as plaything of the rich finally cast off, its abstraction embraced, only to be swiftly replaced by the lyricism of the individual artist railing against the dictate of good taste. Museums had become an accepted podium and jewellery decided the time was ripe to celebrate its worth in all its godforsaken vanity once more. In the pursuit of a place amongst the visual arts, jewellery design had reinvented itself aplenty and now finally the finish was in sight. Justice at last, mission accomplished: game over. But along the way it had become so fixated on acquiring status that it had lost its purpose and hence control over the wheel. The struggle for emancipation had become its ultimate goal. Then the crash came. And now here it hangs on the wall of the gallery like an X-ray of a cardiac arrest. It nestles in its glass case, oblivious to the fact that it already stopped breathing on the workbench of its maker. Contemporary jewellery is an illusion. As artificial, as the stories told by the scribes, who, with their apologias try to invest a whiff of credibility. By appealing to the uniqueness of every single creation process, they try to justify its existence; not just of one piece in particular or of a designer's entire oeuvre but of the discipline as a whole. They tirelessly advocate a myth. In their hands, every piece of jewellery is interpreted as something without precedent. It's a one-off, singular and brilliant - the work of a genius. And yet it simultaneously turns into a pars pro toto. Their pens scour the brains of the true bearers of the Word: the artists who tend to intuit what a particular jewellery piece should tell if it is to fulfil its ambition of the new. Personal fear, euphoria and associations form the uncompromising basis from which jewellery will stir towards a new meaning. These are the stories recorded by the chroniclers of jewellery, like telegraphers of the holy above. Take them at their world and you will find yourself dangling from a very thin rope. It seems as if the world of jewellery design is created anew every day and with every invention the truth of that world becomes a little more definitive. They avow a dogmatic faith in the incessant urge of contemporary jewellery design to be innovative, but forty years on in this alleged revolution their creationist stories can no longer conceal the epileptic fit convulsing the heart of this discipline. Contemporary jewellery pieces are like Rotary badges. As functional and just as steeped in the conventions they once tried to undermine. They have become the shorthand gesture of recognition for those who speak the same language. A rusty code that only has value for the intimate few. Contemporary jewellery is autistic. It doesn't read newspapers or books. Not out of principle but because of a lack of interest. It distrusts history as much as it wishes to sidestep reality. It cherishes and nurtures its own, often incomprehensibly cryptic language to avoid criticism, questions, comparison and even the smallest expression of doubt concerning its intentions. Entrenched behind a parapet of silence it resists criticism and refuses to engage with the banalities of daily reality. Sometimes with such virtuosity that the parapet itself takes on meaning; when the sublime silence develops an autonomous power that lifts the result over and above the natural boundaries of a particular jewellery piece. But as often as not, there reigns a petulant silence, like that of a child trying to get its own way, pursing its lips and with folded arms striking a stubborn pose. It's a battle against parental authority that is lost up front because winning or losing in the end simply boils down to who has the longest breath. In its ambition to remove itself from any form of critical context, contemporary jewellery has only managed to further isolate itself. Not only from the art world, but from its public as well. It complains of a lack of attention, yet wilfully retreats into the shadows of provincial life. Here, in the safe isolation of the artist studio, passions that run high are hammered into every square millimetre of material and moulded into shape. That process, characteristic for the creation of every piece of jewellery for thousands of years was kept in balance by the astute awareness of its actual calling: as an accessory that ultimately expresses the aspirations and achievements of the wearer, not those of the designer. Yes, conventional, and yes, inevitably judged on craftsmanship but for that fact also recognisable and appreciated by the many. The goldsmith followed the market and was - depending on his talents and skills - able to influence the tastes and fashions of his time; in exceptional cases even successfully introducing an indelible signature that bore the hand of its maker. Modern jewellery lost this simple logic along the way. Every designer started to believe him or herself to be that exceptional case. Each of their stories took precedence over that of the end user, the wearer. The maker's signature no longer had to be proven, was no longer a priori under discussion, now that it was simultaneously the source and ultimate goal of every creation. This transformed the typically extrovert ornament of yore into a piece of almost completely introverted sculpture. It chose the gallery over the shop, the collection over the street, the conversation between friends over social interaction. Contemporary jewellery is superfluous. After all, what could it possibly contribute that other visual arts do not explore at least equally as well? Intimacy, unease, voyeurism, consolation, exuberance, silence, beauty...? None of these belong exclusively to the domain of the jewellery designer. The moment the wearer was banished from the equation and the very social codes that had provided it with its most specific meaning were vilified contemporary jewellery gave up its raison d'etre. What followed was a turbulent but futile search for an emergency exit in a tunnel that just got darker and darker. Unless the self-inflicted isolation is radically abandoned, the discipline will have to settle for its position in the fringes of the fringes. Barely noticed and certainly unchallenged. Striving for a safe, because enemy-free existence that is thoroughly uninteresting since it is validated only by those few square inches necessary for its own conception. If it wants a chance of survival its maker will have to step out into more dangerous terrain. Return to his craft, if only to forget it. That means ditching forty years of dogma but getting in return centuries of conformism and defiance that will doubtlessly prove a far richer source. Jewellery must be sentimental and never look for compromise. Jewellery must be owned by the public if it wants to touch the public. Jewellery must steal and seek to be stolen. Jewellery must cherish its enemies in order to make friends. Jewellery must forget the psychoanalysis of the studio. Jewellery must go out into the street to eat and be eaten. Jewellery must be shamelessly curious. Jewellery must look where to attack and neglect its defences. Jewellery must use traditional codes in order to break them. Jewellery must neither forgive nor forget. Jewellery must ignore all prescription. “In Celebration of the street: Manifesto for the new jewellery” co-authored by Ted Noten and Gerd Staal. Images used in this post are not property of CURRENT OBSESSION and belong to their rightful owners. If these images belong to you and you would like them removed, please contact us.

12-18 March 2014 Events related to Jewellery during the International Trade Fair ALL THE EVENTS FEATURED BELOW (+ FEW EXTRA ONES) WILL BE PUBLISHED IN CURRENT OBSESSION PAPER ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… HIGHLIGHTS Messegelände Munich I Halle B1 Sonderschauen der 66. Internationalen Handwerksmesse Munich Schmuck 2014, Talente 2014, Exempla 2014 - Partnerschaften, Meister der Moderne 2014, Frame mit Galerie Marzee, Platina, Ra, Chrome Yellow Books www.ihm-handwerk-design.com Galerie Handwerk "WUNDERRUMA - Schmuck aus Neuseeland", Max-Joseph-Straße 4, 80333 München, Vernissage 6.3., 18.30 Uhr, 7.3.-19.4., Di, Mi, Fr 10-18, Do 10-20, Sa 10-13 Uhr, 14.3., 11 Uhr WUNDERRUMA Katalogpräsentation von Karl Fritsch und Warwick Freeman, Sonderöffnung 16.3., 10-14 Uhr, www.hwk-muenchen.de/galerie, www.facebook.de/galerie.handwerk, Tel. +49 89 5119296 Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich, Barer Straße 40, Pinakothek der Moderne, 80333 München. Vernissage 14.3., 19 Uhr I Wiedereröffnung der Danner-Rotunde, Di-So 10-18, Do 10-20 Uhr, STARING: The State University of New York at New Paltz Vernissage 14.3., 19 Uhr, Di-So 10-18, Do 10-20 Uhr, Talk 16.3., 11 Uhr Pravu Mazumdar: Understanding Surfaces. On Jewellery and Identity. Pinakothek der Moderne. www.die-neue-sammlung.de, Tel. +49 89 2727250, +49 89 23805360 Talk in Nürnberg13.3.,14.30 Uhr, Die Neue Sammlung/Neues Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg, "A Jewel show by Gabi Dziuba, Ausstellungsgespräch", Klarissenplatz, 90402 Nürnberg, www.nmn.de, 6.2.-4.5., Di-So 10-18, Do 10-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 2727250 Bayerischer Kunstgewerbe-Verein e.V., Galerie für Angewandte Kunst "Peter Bauhuis Hallimasch", Vernissage 27.2., 18.30 Uhr, "Hallimasch Mushrooming“ am 14.3., 17-18 Uhr und 16.3.,14-15 Uhr, Pacellistraße 6-8, 80333 München, www.kunsthandwerk- bkv.de, 28.2.-5.4., Mo-Sa 10-18 Uhr Artothek/Bildersaal, "Demiurg", David Bielander Françoise van den Bosch Award exhibition, Rosental 16, 80331 München, Vernissage, 14.2., 18 Uhr, 14.2.-22.3., Mi 14-18, Do 14-19.30, 14.3., 14 Uhr introduction by Jorunn Veiteberg, Fr 14-18, Sa 9-13, So 16.3., 14-18 Uhr Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, "The Home of Jewellery, Munich-London- Tokyo", Vernissage, 12.3., 18.30-21 Uhr, Nicole Beck, Martin Papcun, Despo Sophocleous, Evelie Moulia, David Roux-Foillet, Silvia Weidenbach, Saika Matsuda, Hiroaki Nagata, Rei Yamada, Altbau, Historische Aula, Akademiestraße 2, 80799 München, 12.-16.3., Do, Fr, Sa 12-15.30, So 12-19 Uhr ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… SATURDAY, 8. March 2014 11 Uhr Galerie Biro, "Endangered Pink“, Robert Baines, Zieblandstraße 2, 80799 München, 7.3.-26.4., Di-Fr 14-18 Uhr, Sa 11-14 Uhr, 12.-18.3.,11-19 Uhr und außerhalb der Stadt 17 Uhr Galerie Anna Pirk, Zwiefacher, Kerstin Becker - Christine Graf, Seestraße 24, 83700 Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee, www.anna-pirk.de, 11.3.-22.3., Di-Sa 11-19 Uhr, So 16.3., 14-18 Uhr und nach Absprache, Tel. +49 8022 1884222 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… TUESDAY, 11. March 2014 24h window display, Antiquariat Dieter Zipprich, "Initial-BfG"- introducing a new onlineshop by Volker Atrops, Vernissage, 15.2., 18 Uhr, 16.2.-18.3, Zieblandstraße 2, 80799 München, www.bund-fuer-gestaltung.de 13 Uhr Atelier Shari Pierce, "Car Crashes and Butterflies", Mia Maljojoki & Shari Pierce, Morawitzkystraße 1, 80803 München, 11.-16.3., Di-Fr 13-19, Sa 10-13 Uhr 19 Uhr Ventil, "Heidi Saul Schmuck", Steinstraße 17, 81667 München, www.ventil-schmuck.de, 12.-19.3., Di-Fr 11-19, Sa, So, Mo 11-16 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 481340 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… WEDNESDAY, 12. March 2014 10-18 Uhr Galerie Wittenbrink, Warwick Freeman, Türkenstra.e 16, 80333 München, www.wittenbrinkfuenfhoefe.de, 12.-18.3., Di-Sa 10-18, Do 10-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 2605580 10-19 Uhr Wittenbrink FünfH.fe, Reinhold Ziegler, Theatinerstraße 14, 80333 München, www.wittenbrinkfuenfhoefe.de, 12.-18.3., 10-19 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 25541933 11-19 Uhr galerieGEDOKmuc, new spirit – fresh colours, Susanne Elstner, Susanne Holzinger, Christiana Jöckel, Michaela Köppl, Kristina Kundt, Daniela Osterrieder, Schleißheimer Straße 61, 80797 München, Mi-So 11-19, Do 11-22 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 24290715 und +49 171 1762705 14 Uhr Elisabethstraße 18, Rgb., III, Hyorim Lee, Junwon Jung, Mari Iwamoto, 80796 München, 13.-15.3., Do-Fr 10-20 Uhr, Tel +49 176 32916054 16 Uhr Mobile Präsentation, MAD about Schmuck, Object & Jewellery, MAD-Faculty, Hasselt (BE): Machteld Lambeets, An Jonckers, Noana Giambra, Kenny Appermans, Anneleen Swillen. 13.-16.3, Do-So 10 Uhr open end, www.facebook.com/MADabout-Schmuck, Tel. +32 498 772664 16-20 Uhr Frauenstraße 18, "Blanco", Christie Schellings, Babs Zwanink, Anne Eissen, Heike Pipapo, Sangji Yun, Anke Huyben, 80469 München, 12.-16.3, 10-17 Uhr, Tel. +32 613 507975 16-20 Uhr Galerie Artefakt, "Emailkunst", Julika Müller, Melanie Nützel, Christja Tritschler, Hans-Sachs-Straße 13, 80469 München, www.artefakt-muenchen.de, 12.-29.3., Mo-Fr 11-19, Sa 11-15 Uhr 17-21 Uhr Weltraum, "peacock green & old rose", Eunmi Chun & Dongchun Lee, Rumfordstraße 26, 80469 München, 12.-16.3., 11-19 Uhr 17.30 Uhr AkademieGalerie, "48 KILOGRAM LIGHT", Nadine Kuffner, Janina Stübler, Annamaria Leiste, U-Bahn Universität Zwischengeschoss, 13.-16.3., Do-So 11-21, 17.-21.3., 16-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 171 3696009 17-20 Uhr Ponyhof Artclub, "Vienna 4", Michelle Kraemer, Viktoria Münzker, Claudia Steiner, Eva Tesarik, Pestalozzistraße 14, 80469 München, 12.-14.3., Do 11-20, Fr 11-18 Uhr, Tel. +43 699 11180455 18 Uhr Maurer Zilioli-Contemporary Arts zu Gast bei reillplast, "Karen Pontoppidan - Canvas Context Cash", Amalienstraße 21, 80333 München, www.maurer-zilioli.com, 12.-16.3., Di-Fr 10-19 Uhr, Tel. +49 1577 3362236 18-22 Uhr Showroom Lothringer Straße 7: "Silenzio. Oltre la Forma, Dentro il Tempo - Stille. Jenseits der Form, Innerhalb der Zeit", Schmuck, Skulptur und Fotografie, Inea Gukema-Augstein, Renzo Pasquale und Annamaria Zanella, Lothringer Straße 7, 81667 München, welcome@kunstberatung.de, 12.-23.3., Do-Di 16-21 Uhr 18.30-21 Uhr Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, "The Home of Jewellery, Munich- London-Tokyo", Nicole Beck, Martin Papcun, Despo Sophocleous, Evelie Moulia, David Roux-Foillet, Silvia Weidenbach, Saika Matsuda, Hiroaki Nagata, Rei Yamada, Altbau, Historische Aula, Akademiestraße 2, 80799 München, 12.-16.3., Do, Fr, Sa 12-15.30, So 12-19 Uhr 18.30-20 Uhr Gallery Kobeia, "Ni Hao!", 10 Contemporary Jewellery Artists from Taiwan, Luisenstraße 49, 80333 München, www.bench886studio.weebly.com, 13.-18.3., 11-20 Uhr 19 Uhr Elisabethstraße 16, Rgb., III, Hyorim Lee, Junwon Jung, Mari Iwamoto, 80796 München, 13.-15.3., Do-Fr 10-20, Sa 10-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 176 32916054 19 Uhr Micheko Galerie, "Mass", Sungho Cho, Akiko Kurihara, Fumiki Taguchi, Theresienstraße 18, 80333 München, www.micheko.com, 13.-22.3., 11-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 38169388 19 Uhr Tschechisches Zentrum, "In the Mood", Eva Eisler, Katerina Vorlová, Markéta Kratochvílová, Janja Prokic, Prinzregentenstraße 7, 80538 München, www.munich.czechcentres.cz, 12.3.-18.3.,10-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 21024932 24 h window display, Hauptbahnhof Nürnberg/Unterführung Königstorpassage/am Ausgang zu Altstadt und Neuem Museum, rechts, "Malerei mit Gerät“, Anne Fischer, Fatma Güdü, 2.2.-18.3., www.vitrine-nbg.blogspot.de, Tel. +49 176 20913486 18 Uhr Neues Museum in Nürnberg, Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design, "Die Welt hinter den Dingen", Silber Sommer Galerie: Tafelgerät-Gegenwärtige Positionen Talk with Drummond Masterton (UK), Deborah Werbner (UK), Isabelle Enders (DE), Simon Pattison (UK), Andres Ljungberg (SW), Juliane Schölß (DE) 21 Uhr Muffathalle, Zellstraße 4, SCHMUCK-Show, Live Schmuck-Präsentation, www.schmuck-show.de ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… THURSDAY, 13. March 2014 10-12 Uhr Studio Gabi Green, "Suspended in Green", 33 artists. Curated by Laura Bradshaw-Heap, Gollierstraße 7, 80339 München, www.facebook.com/suspendedingreen, suspendedingreen.blogspot.be, 13.-16.3., Do 10-20, Fr, Sa, So 9.30-18 Uhr Tel. +44 7940452838 10.30 Uhr Bergmannstraße 28, "Parasiten", Susanne Blin, Florian Buddeberg, Anna Maria Eichlinger, Gabi Green, Anna Moll, 80339 München, 13.-17.3., Mi-Sa 24 h window display, Tel. +49 89 173 5926015 11 Uhr tragbar, "Plum & Plum", Martina Mühlfellner, Alja Neuner, Zenettistraße 33, 80337 München, 13.-16.3., Do-So 11-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 173 7664455 11-18 Uhr Atelier von Gierke-Berr, "Collectomaniacalicity", Peter Vermandere, Schraudolphstraße 16, 80799 München, 13.-16.3., 11-19 Uhr, Tel. +32 486759470 13 Uhr Ligsalzstraße 27, "Heimat Punk & Luxusbaba, Destination Schmuck", Farrah Al-Dujaili, Natalie Smith, Jo Pond, Sally Collins, Li-Chu Wu, Hannah Fewtrell-Bolton, 80339 München, 13.-16.3., Fr 11-19, Sa-So 11-16 Uhr 12 Uhr Geschäft, "figure", Henriette Schuster, Rothmundstraße 6, 80337 München, www.henrietteschuster.com, 13.-14.3. und 16.3., 12-17 Uhr, Tel. +49 174 3263647 14 Uhr Saffeels‘, "Synthesis", Babette von Dohnanyi, Barerstraße 63, 80799 München, www.saffeels.com, 13.-16.3., Do-Fr 11-19, Sa, So 10-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 45214660 14.30 Uhr Die Neue Sammlung/Neues Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg, "A Jewel show by Gabi Dziuba, Ausstellungsgespräch", Klarissenplatz, 90402 Nürnberg, www.nmn.de, 6.2.-4.5., Di-So 10-18, Do 10-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 2727250 14.30 Uhr Messegelände München, Halle B1 Aktionsbühne, "Die Welt hinter den Dingen", Silber Sommer Galerie: Tafelgerät-Gegenwärtige Positionen. Es sprechen: Deborah Werbner (UK), Isabell Enders (DE), Simon Pattison (UK) 15-19 Uhr Jekyll & Hyde Photography, "Marry Ted Noten", Students of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Welserstraße 11 UG, 81373 München, www.3stations.de, 14.-16.3., Fr-Sa 10-18, So 10-14 Uhr, Tel. +32 485 434390 15-19 Uhr Atelier Stach, “Pearls, you are choking me!”, Gisbert Stach, Welserstraße 15 UG, 81373 München, www.3stations.de, 14.-16.3., Fr-Sa 10-18, So 10-14 Uhr, Tel. +49 152 01911151 15-19 Uhr Welser.Punkt, "Lights ON/Lights OFF", Dimitar Stankov, Jonathan Hens, Welserstraße 29-31, 81373 München, www.3stations.de, 14.-16.3., Fr-Sa 10-18, So 10-14 Uhr, Tel. +32 495 327052 16 Uhr Almstadt Schmuck, Melanie Nützel & Kirsten Wittstruck, Reichenbachstraße 25, 80469 München, 13.-16.3.,11-19 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 12555761 17-21 Uhr Projektraum J. Baumeister, "BONZO GONZO!", Alexander Blank, Kiko Gianocca, Melanie Isverding, Florian Weichsberger, Georgenstraße 66, 80799 München, 14.-16.3., Fr 11-18, Sa 11-16, So 11-18 Uhr 17 Uhr Galerie Katrin Eitner zu Gast im Ausstellungsraum Ruzicka "Take a walk in my soul“, Rahel Fiebelkorn, Nicole Schuster / Karl Wunderlich, Juliane Noack, Georgenstr. 142, 80797 München 14.-16.3., 11-18 Uhr, kontakt@galerie-eitner.com, www.galerie-eitner.com, Tel. +49 163 172 861317 17 Uhr Das Provisorium, "Realm of Reversals", Flora Vagi jewellery and Kirsten Becken photography, Lindwurmstraße 37, 80337 München, www.floravagi.net, www.kirstenbekken.de, 12.-18.3., Mi-Di 13-20 Uhr, Tel. +36 30 2215534 17 Uhr Showcase 20a, "Máquina", Anne Achenbach, Laura Alvarado, Maren Düsel, Beate Eismann, Ariane Ernst, Silke Fleischer, Phylicia Gilijamse, Christina Karababa, Karin Maisch, Vivian Meller, Daniel Michel, Denise Julia Reytan, Maryvonne Wellen, Donnersbergerstraße 20a, 80634 München, 12.-18.3., 24 Uhr, window display 17-19 Uhr schlegelschmuck, Katja Schlegel, Curator: Christian Hoedl, Barbara Schrobenhauser, Grant McCaig, Nhat-Vu Dang, Rafael Hafner, Jie Sun, Nordendstraße 7 A, Ecke Adalbertstraße, 80799 München, www.schlegelschmuck.de, 13.-21.3., Di-Fr 11-19, Sa/ So 11-14 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 2710071 17.30-19 Uhr Galli Theater München, "Kosmos Kino", Vivi Touloumidi, Beatrice Brovia, Nicolas Cheng, Amalienpassage, Türkenstra.e 86, 80799 München, www.vivitouloumidi.com, www.conversationpiece.co, 13.-16.3., 12-19 Uhr, Do 17.30-20 Uhr 17-20 Uhr margaritifera, "Gates by Chance", Antje Godglück, Dana Seachuga, Susanne Kunz, Maindlstraße 4, 81373 München, 14.-16.3., 12-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 176 96513469 18 Uhr Galerie Hell, "Dialogue 16. The Dialogue Collective. From London to Hell", Isabellastraße 17, 80799 München, with 84 GHz, www.84GHz.de, www.dialoguecollective.co.uk, 13.-16.3., Fr-So 12-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 30637911 18-20 Uhr Galerie Spektrum zu Gast bei Klaus Lea, Ruudt Peters QI , Türkenstra.e 96 Rgb., 80799 München, Fr. 13-19, Sa. 11-14, So 13-18 Uhr 18 Uhr Atelier & Galerie PunktPunktKommaKunst, Portrait me: Origo (Interaktive Ausstellung), Laura Alvarado & Vivian Meller, Donnersbergerstraße 48, 80634 München, www.punktpunktkommakunst.de, 12.-31.3., Mi-Di 12-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 176 32572868 18-21 Uhr Goldbergstudios, "Refuge", Kinga Huber, Orsolya Kecskés, Mária Pecsics, Krisztina Stomfai, Fanni Vékony, Müllerstrasse 46 A, 80469 München, 13.-16.3., 11-19 Uhr, www.menedek-refuge.blogspot.com Tel +36 30 2883431" 18.30 Uhr Winter & Winter Showroom, “in winter”, Emi Fukuda, Viktoriastraße 28, 80803 München, www.emifukuda.com, 13.3.- 30.6., Tel. +49 176 3053 7088 19 Uhr Staatlichen Antikensammlungen, Preisverleihung mineralART 2014 "between layers - Innenwelten des Achats", Königsplatz 1, 80333 München, www.mineralart.de, 13.3.-11.5., Di-So 10-17, Mi 10-20 Uhr 19 Uhr 84 GHz, "SOLOƧ: never odd or even" Part II, Tanel Veenre and Märta Mattsson, Georgenstraße 84, 80799 München, www.84ghz.de, www.martamattsson.com, www.tanelveenre.com, 13.-16.3., Fr-So 12-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 30637911 19 Uhr Cafe Clara, “Tan lejos, tan cerca/ In weiter Ferne, so nah. Joyería contemporánea argentina en Munich”, Luz Arias , Iacov Azubel, Patricia Gallucci, Alejandra Koreck, Francine Schloeth, Sabina Tiemroth, Isabellastraße 8, 80798 München, www.tanlejostancercajewelry.blogspot.co.uk, 12.-18.3., 10-19 Uhr 21-24 Uhr 84 GHz, "OBSESSED WITH PAPER", The Current Obsession Party, Georgenstr. 84, 80799 München, www.84ghz.de, www.current-obsession.com, www.facebook.com/events/1403511356454076/ Tel. +49 89 30637911 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… FRIDAY, 14. March 2014 11 Uhr Galerie Handwerk, WUNDERRUMA, Katalogpräsentation mit Karl Fritsch und Warwick Freeman, Max-Joseph-Straße 4, 80333 München, Tel. +49 89 5119296 14 Uhr Artothek/Bildersaal introduction by Jorunn Veiteberg, "Demiurg", David Bielander Françoise van den Bosch Award exhibition, Rosental 16, 80333 München, Mi 14-18, Do 14-19.30, Fr 14-18, Sa 9-13, So 14-18 Uhr 13 Uhr Adalbertstraße 11, "Plateaus Jewellery Project", Barbora Dzuráková, Patricia Correia Domingues, Katharina Dettar, Edu Tarín, in collaboration with graphic designer Marta Veludo, 80799 München, www.plateausjewelleryproject.com, 14.-16.3., 11-19 Uhr 15-18 Uhr Wörthstraße 23/I, Broken Heart Series by Diana Dudek, 81667 München, 14.-15.3., 15-18 Uhr 16-21 Uhr im Fruchthof "Farbe und das Gegenteil", Edda Licht mit PE/AH, Gotzingerstraße 52 A, 81371 München, www.eddalicht.de, 14.-16.3., Sa, So 10-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 177 2710500 16 Uhr Messegelände, Halle B1, Aktionsbühne "Die Welt hinter den Dingen" Silber Sommer Galerie: Tafelgerät-Gegenwärtige Positionen. Es sprechen Anders Ljungberg, Drummond Masterton, Juliane Schölß 17 Uhr reillplast Aperitivo: "Karen Pontoppidan - Canvas Context Cash", Amalienstr. 21, 80333 München, www.maurer-zilioli.com 17-18 Uhr Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein e.V., "Peter Bauhuis Hallimasch Mushrooming“, Pacellistraße 6-8, 80333 München 18-21 Uhr Galerie Spektrum, "Helen Britton - Unheimlich", Theresienstraße 46, 80333 München, www.galerie-spektrum.de, 14.3.-26.4., Fr 14.3., 18-21, Sa 15.3., 11-14 Uhr, So 16.3., 13-18 Uhr 18 Uhr Kunstgießerei München "SOLOƧ: never odd or even" Part I, Märta Mattsson and Tanel Veenre, Schleißheimerstraße 72, 80797 München with 84 GHz, www.84GHz.de, www.martamattsson.com, www.tanelveenre.com, 14.-16.3., Sa 11-19, So 11-16 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 30637911 18 Uhr Galerie Isabella Hund, "Black is beautiful", Gigi Mariani, Maria Rosa Franzin, Sabine Steinhäusler, Frauenplatz 13, 80331 München, www.isabella-hund.de 19 Uhr Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich, "Wiedereröffnung der Danner-Rotunde" und "STARING: The State University of New York at New Paltz", Barer Straße 40, 80333 München, www.die-neue-sammlung.de, Di-So 10-18, Do 10-20 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 2727250 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… SATURDAY, 15. March 2014 11-18 Uhr Galerie Biro zu Gast im Einsäulensaal "Returning to the jewel is a retun from exile 7", Robert Baines, Karl Fritsch, Gerd Rothmann, 15.-16.3., 11-18 Uhr 11-14 Uhr Galerie Fred Jahn, "Giampaolo Babetto", Zeichnungen 1965-2013, Maximilianstraße 10, 80539 München, www.fredjahn.com, 15.3.-12.4., Tel. +49 89 220714 12 Uhr Brunch Tschechisches Zentrum, "In the Mood", Eva Eisler, Katerina Vorlová, Markéta Kratochvílová, Janja Prokic, Prinzregentenstraße 7, 80538 München, www.munich.czechcentres.cz, 12.3.-18.3., 10-18 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 21024932 14-15 Uhr Messegelände, Halle B1, Frame Chrome Yellow Books, Arnoldsche Buchpräsentationen, Jewellery in Israel, Iris Bodemer Rebus, Ute Eitzenhöfer, Cosmic Debris mit Schmuck von Reinhold Ziegler 15.30 Uhr Talente-Preis-Verleihung 2014, Messegelände München, Halle B1 Aktionsbühne 16 Uhr Herbert-Hofmann-Preis-Verleihung 2014, Messegelände München, Halle B1 Aktionsbühne 17 Uhr Buchpräsentation Galerie Marzee 19 Uhr Augustiner Keller, Goldschmiedetreffen, Arnulfstraße 52, 80335 München, www.augustinerkeller.de, Tel. +49 89 595584 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… SUNDAY, 16. March 2014 10-14 Uhr Sonderöffnung Galerie Handwerk, "WUNDERRUMA - Schmuck aus Neuseeland", Max-Joseph-Straße 4, 80333 München, Tel. +49 89 5119296 11 Uhr Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich, "Talk: Pravu Mazumdar: Understanding Surfaces. On Jewellery and Identity" Pinakothek der Moderne, Barer Straße 40, 80333 München, Tel. +49 89 2727 250 und +49 89 23805360 13-18 Uhr Sonderöffnung Ruudt Peters Qi, Spektrum bei Klaus Lea, Türkenstra.e 96 Rgb. 13-18 Uhr Sonderöffnung Galerie Spektrum, "Helen Britton - Unheimlich", Theresienstraße 46 14-15 Uhr Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein e.V., "Peter Bauhuis: Hallimasch Mushrooming“, Pacellistraße 6-8, 80333 München, Sonderöffnung 11-17 Uhr, Tel. +49 89 2901470 14-18 Uhr Sonderöffnung Artothek/Bildersaal "Demiurg" David Bielander Françoise van den Bosch Award exhibition, Rosental 16, 80331 München, Tel. +49 89 23 26 96 35 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Musical instruments and jewellery share several fundamental similarities: a rich tradition of craftsmanship, function, ornamentation, and inherent value. Both are meant to last generations and to be passed from individual to individual. Thus when an instrument or a piece of jewellery is no longer wanted or needed it falls into a particular space of limbo, the owner wishes to part with the item yet at the same time hopes that it will continue its existence. It is in this way that the group A5, Adam Grinovich, Romina Fuentes, and Annika Pettersson, came into contact with a piano. From its inception the piano has a natural connection to the human body. The piano is built for the body, and according to a human 
being. The piano can be viewed as a jewel within a room, yet its full value and potential is not realized until it enters a symbiotic relationship with a person. The piano is an embodied idea with a sensitive cultural identity and sentimental value. The piano in contemporary urban living is quickly receding into a vestige of the past. In a rapidly evolving world the piano represents an unnecessary mechanical goliath, a sharp formal contrast from minimal modern aesthetics. Our world is one of multi-functioning gadgets, reduced to the smallest possible size and shape, performing as many tasks and functions as conceivably possible. For this reason a piano is practically useless, however, the rich traditional background and romantic history of the piano has a specific allure. A5 confronts this tension by reducing the piano into digestible pieces, physically and conceptually, removing its sole function as an instrument while highlighting its cultural mystique. The result is a sum of all parts that greatly differs in aesthetic but maintains a similar impact of the emotive potential hidden within the structural composition of the piano itself. “Aeon Profit - Piano Forte” is by nature an installation, but taken from the vernacular of the tradition of jewellery. It borrows its aesthetic from common jewellery store displays, where scores of individual articles are laid out ad infinitum in order to entice the viewer/buyer into selecting a piece that best suits his or her taste. At the same time the overall impression is that of an irregular pattern or decorative motif that serves to activate a variety of different spaces. This dynamic shift between the economy of a pawn shop and the extravagance of hand printed wall paper further reinforces the concept of the piano as a useless object scrapped for parts as versus a representation of status and class. In the exhibition “Aeon Profit – Piano Forte” A5 set out to explore the existence of the piano, breaking it apart from its original human function, by introducing a contemporary ornamental function. A5 attempts to recreate the pianos identity in a new constellation and a different perspective on connecting to the human body. The complex mechanisms contained within a piano provide a wide spectrum of materials and forms, not unlike the organs contained 
within a human body. Together with existential values, we create and accumulate to become the being that we are. “Chopping up a piano transforms it into bits – not parts – cut along lines that obey a different logic than that of articulated movement… …it seeks to exhaust an unassessable quantity of inventoried cuts, hanging off ropes like an erratic map of the bits they come from” –Benjamin Lingnel A5 is a platform for discussion insofar as every project is designed to cultivate the possibility to freely exchange ideas. It is through 
dialogue and conversation that A5 expands its territory. Since the groups’ onset, A5 has made a specific effort to find new connections 
between the body, material, and the relation of persons to jewellery.

Megumi is a fine art and commercial photographer based out of Seattle, WA. Her work is consistently about stripping away the layers and walls we use to protect ourselves. In revealing each person’s raw humanity, she believes people can truly relate to one another and share understanding and compassion. "I began to notice how full of personality hands were when I started looking at many for a commercial jewellery shoot. Every person has a distinct memory infused relationship with his or her hands. They are what connect us to the world and our own identity in an instinctual fashion. I decided to start documenting the hands of creative people around my city. This was the birth of Hand History. I am currently in the middle of fundraising and shooting. I hope to include another 30 plus people." /////// Find more work by Megumi here: megumishauna.com instagram @oneflewup

ORDER ONLINE This tote bag was made especially for the Schmuck'14 Week in Munich. It's a good place to store and accumulate your flyers, books, catalogues, invitations, visit cards and, of course CURRENT OBSESSION PAPER. We know that Schmuck is the best place to meet people and network, so let's get ready and enjoy it! ///// You'll love this bag if you are not planing to visit Munich. It is a perfect place for your CURRENT OBSESSION MAGAZINE and PAPER! ORDER ONLINE

THE GIJS + EMMY SHOW The show about the show On Friday 21st of February CURRENT OBSESSION along with a good four hundred dedicated visitors had the pleasure to visit the evening opening of 'The Gijs + Emmy spectacle', exhibition dedicated to, at the time sensational exhibition of Gijs Bakker (Amersfoort, 1942) and Emmy van Leersum (Hilversum, 1930- Amersfoort, 1984) that took place nearly fifty years ago on May 12, 1967 in the very same gallery of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The exhibition also discusses the sequence of exhibitions that followed after their glorious launch. The couple worked closely together on creation of numerous original jewellery designs with a joint name stamp GIJS+EMMY, represented by two plus signs. They developed a highly simplified, abstract style that came to characterise their work. Gijs and Emmy rejected the craft tradition of the silversmith and strove instead to eradicate any trace of personal expression from their creations. By placing great emphasis on the relation between jewellery and the human body, they sought to account for the personality of the wearer of both their jewellery and clothing designs. Their ideas were inspired by the contemporary youth fashion that defined the look of the rebellious 1960s. Stills from a movie by Bart Hess, young Dutch performance and video artist based in London. The movie is attempting to recapture the atmosphere of the 'outer space' creatures that were prancing the stage back in 1967 Items that played a role in the making of the show: music record, sketch of model appearance and sequence, original invitation The style of Gijs and Emmy reached maturity circa 1970: a design of minimal intervention in standard aluminium tubes. Their bracelets featured cutouts made with systematic and mathematic precision. In 1972, the bracelets were exhibited in London, along with the suits from Clothing Suggestions. The title of the exhibition aptly summarised the work of Gijs and Emmy - Objects to Wear: Experimental Clothing and New Jewellery. The Netherlands Dance Theatre ordered several costumes from the Clothing Suggestions collection. These pieces were subsequently worn in the ballet Mutations. The reviews of the performance stated that the clean-lined costumes, the chrome and neon, and the absence of colour lent the ballet a 'frosty chic'. Exhibition features most curious archive images Excerpts from from a 52-minute documentary by Lex Reitsma, made especially for this exhibition in 2014. Senior followers of Gijs and Emmy, at the time representatives of the Dutch 'creative hotbed' reminisce about the old days. Exhibition book + DVD This show is a farewell exhibition of the Applied Arts and Design curator of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Marjan Boot. Find more information about the show here.

CURRENT OBSESSION is deliberately caught up in the issue of FAKE. And while this may sound like a painful acquisition, we sense it to be so much more revealing and promising than the negation of reality and originality it implies. Fake deconstructs a given identity and makes deep marks into the superficiality of value, produce and glamour. Release: June 2014, Basel, CH Together with the exhibition CRAFT & BLING BLING in collaboration with DEPOT BASEL. Place for contemporary design. More soon.

TALENTE'14 Photography by Linda Beumer WINNER: Patrícia Correia Domingues
 “Untitled” Serie “Duality ”
Brooch Reconstruted wood, Steel
, 2013 Photography of the brooch by Manuel Ocaña WINNER: Lauren Vanessa Tickle $54.00 and $22.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted, Brooch US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament and Surgical Steel Size Varies, 2012 Steven Gordon Holman Geode Torque, 2013, Neckpiece Dugway geodes, bonze, steel, u-bolt Yun-Chin Hsu Aesthetic of Fears, Ring
3D and Mask
3D print clear resin, color dye, latex
2013 Liu Xiao
 The Rice Stone-40130721 and Stone-2120130711 Rice, dust, silver
2013 Christine Bukkehave 
 Door to the past and Weeping tree, Brooches 
Driftwood, amber, 18kt gold, marine varnish, 2013 Jing He brooch, Brooch Ready-made(openers), remanium, bending Ready-made(egg beater, opener), remanium, cutting, bending Ready-made(openers) remanium, bending Tammy Young Eun Kim Formation, Brooch and Growth, Brooch 3-D printed Alumide, brass, steel and Dyed 3-D printed sandstone

Paris-born, Berlin-based fine jewellery designer Lou Andrea Savoir has launched her 'radically refined... with a sensual touch' brand Savoir Joaillerie back in 2010. Recently she set about a line of creative collaborations under the title SAVOIR By aiming to reveal the modernity and expressive potential of jewellery. First one up is a collaboration with Trevor Good, Canadian Berlin-based photographer. CURRENT OBSESSION: Can you tell us more about how this idea to collaborate with non-jewellery artists came about? Lou Andrea Savoir: The collaboration has to do primarily with interpretation or direction, akin to a musician with a score or a director with his subject. I approach artists in different fields, and ask them if they would do me the honor of making images of their own, featuring my pieces in whichever way they are inspired to - and as visibly or as subtly as they like. CURRENT OBSESSION: What was it inspired by? Lou Andrea Savoir: It came about because my network is full of artists, artists whose work I look up to, and who, thankfully, are also inspired by mine. Apart from within the Contemporary Jewellery scene, which I love, jewellery is such an under-tapped medium for expression and exploration. On one hand there is the creation of the piece and on the other there is the input of the person who wears it. CURRENT OBSESSION: What exactly is the process of selection of the artist, and of the later collaboration? Lou Andrea Savoir: The process of selection is basically: I must like their work and they must like mine. We select each other. Then it is different with each artist. Sometimes I have a lot of input on the images - other times not. I do reserve the right not to use an image under my name. The only definite line I draw for myself is vulgarity, something I would consider degrading or disparaging of women or men. It's a very personal line, it also has to do with context. Some images make sense in a gallery but not on the website, where there is a more open commercial aspect, like the e-shop. It's a layered operation and I like being flexible, staying open to the different opportunities. Personally I have to be sure of an image to put it out there. But if the artist wants to present one of the images I haven't chosen under their own name, it's their work - and, of course they can. CURRENT OBSESSION: Is there a financial arrangement? Lou Andrea Savoir: There is more of an exchange agreement, a piece for a piece type of thing, including everyone involved, and then we all try to get the images out there as much as we can for each other's benefit. Through Savoir Joaillerie I'll contact galleries and art magazines as well as culture and fashion press with their images. Savoir Joaillerie covers costs, and I use the images as promotion, but not as advertising, I leave in the artists name, always. CURRENT OBSESSION: How does photography help you to communicate ideas behind the collaboration and who does it for you? Lou Andrea Savoir: In the case of photography, the pictures are the collaboration. In the case of a drawing like Jen Rays', the pictures are more documentation of the collaboration. I want to show her piece and the jewellery inspired by it, and she has major shows coming up on her side, we're setting it up. I will get to a place where we do a show of each series, the project is only 3 artists in, and it's already so rich. I can't wait to get this work out there, but first I want to dedicate proper attention to Trevor Good's photos, which really set the bar high. CURRENT OBSESSION: What is your opinion is the most exciting part of such collaborations and what is the toughest? Lou Andrea Savoir: The most exciting part is connecting with the artist, seeing the images for the first time, discovering their interpretation. I also love working on the images when it does happen, editing the series... The latest series we are making with Alex Coggin of the Calvin Klein Group. As a director and a performer he is used to collaboration and thrives on it. He directed the images and invited me to be involved with formatting, editing and post production. The toughest would be if an artist took time and effort to produce images I really can't get behind, because I couldn't use them. CURRENT OBSESSION: What will be your future collaboration? And what do you expect from it? Lou Andrea Savoir: The next one planned is with Jasmine Illiana Pasquill, who is a New York-based artist and a world-renowned Post-Production behind-the-scenes genie. She has a bank of her own images and I have my product shots, this will be a 100% Photoshop operation. I'm very excited to see what she will do with these straight-up product shots, also because her esthetic is pretty maximalist compared to mine. I'd like to work with a dancer, in a series combining full body-in-motion and close-up shots. That's a tough one because I have to find the right photographer, I am thinking of this woman here in Berlin who does fantastically lit sport photography, that would be really interesting. I would like a shoot with great clothes. And any opportunity to travel back to Mexico. Pyramids? - http://savoirjoaillerie.com

Never Get Old Immortality and constant change through the teachings of Chinese alchemy and the makings of Ruudt Peters I first approached Ruudt Peters about featuring him in the Youth issue in early May 2013. My original idea was to talk with him about his resiliency in terms of making work, his capability of reinventing himself by creating an entirely new body of work every two years, about his youthful mind and his tireless dramatic relationship with jewellery. He greeted me at his beautiful Amsterdam home; we hugged, sat down in two designer chairs in his living room and started talking. I started explaining what I wanted with the article and the words ‘never getting old’ came out. His reaction was absolutely unexpected. He cried "I know! Yes, that’s it! Never getting old, never dying, it’s about immortality! It’s about alchemy!” I had no idea what he was talking about… until he told me the whole story. It took two intense and emotional sessions, where we cried and we laughed and we talked about everything. I really love this story and after trying to re-create it in my own words and failing, I chose to write it as Ruudt told it. I always want to stretch my borders, to find new ways. That’s where it starts. New ways always come when I put myself in an uncomfortable situation. I was sitting in these two chairs with my husband, talking about the trip, which we both wanted to take. Usually we stop our activities for three months and seek new inspiration, new life… all this crisis talk in Europe is so boring! So we were talking and talking and there were few of options, like India and China. I thought I would like to go to a place where I don’t like being so much, because we have been in China back in 2000 and we didn’t like it. People are very kind, but their exchanges are very hard to understand. It’s very difficult to get into the culture; the language barrier and the cultural barrier make you work very hard to understand things. It is not a holiday country at all! But regardless of all that we made a final decision to go to China… And you know how before the trip you do all kinds of things and preparations… and I thought, shit, I have something, like a bump inside my cheek; so I decided to go see a dentist to be aware of what it is and make sure it was ok. He couldn’t figure out what it was and sent me to a jaw surgeon. I went exactly one week before the trip. And the surgeon said: “Well, I can’t do anything about this”…I just thought he was a strange guy… So we went on our trip. We had a one-entry visa, meaning we would only enter the country once. And honestly that was the best thing… because after three weeks I was bored of China, it is so incredibly overcrowded, everywhere you go there are people, you can’t hide yourself, it is always, full, packed, packed, packed… It is always public there, and there are no moments for secrets. I grew really sick of it: Chinese were coming out of my ears, and coming out of my nose…But I couldn’t leave because I had a workshop and a lecture planned at the end of the trip and the fact that I couldn’t leave turned out to be fantastic, great, perfect! There were three things I wanted to do: to travel, to get to know the country and research the subject. Then do artist in residence in Xiamen and a workshop in Beijing. My reason to go to China was to know more about Chinese alchemy. That was my leading interest. It was extremely difficult, because all the information, all the texts are in Chinese and very little bit is translated. And even when translated, books are very difficult to understand. And there was a difficulty in me concerning China and Chinese alchemy… I knew a little bit about Chinese alchemy, about the Naidan and Waidan, inner and outer alchemy. The outer, coincides more with the Western understanding of alchemy. In this difference lies the exact problem: we think with the brain, we try to control things intellectually... trying to achieve gold from led. It is about creating objects and giving value to these objects outside your being. For the Chinese, the understanding was exactly opposite: they were trying to create gold to ingest it. Ingestion of gold elixir was targeting the ultimate goal: immortality. They saw the process of making gold as a holistic, total experience of life prolongation. They ate gold, instead of making gold to make objects; and they ate it to extend their lives… I find that great! For me death is one of the most romantic things in life. Death, what to do with death!? The romance of being here, knowing that there is this point at which you are going to die, and not knowing when exactly this point is in your life – I find this to be the highest romantic aspect of living… Being in China, I was confronted with things I couldn’t deal with. The more difficult people are in front of you, the more you learn about yourself, because they constantly keep the mirror up and you see the reflection of yourself. Difficult people are difficult because they make you confront yourself. So being in China, I met my mother and I met myself, little Ruudt… I was constantly annoyed with the Chinese because I had to deal with my own issues. The first few weeks were very confronting: you can’t read anything, they don’t help you, in a restaurant no one can translate anything, I felt like a real stupid Dutch ‘cheese head’, thinking I really cannot cope with this culture! Clash! There was no one to help, to translate, to explain, but that exact thing turned out to be great in the end. I found out that Taoism, ying-yang, Tai Chi, acupuncture are all aspects of the inner alchemy and all of these combined make up the way Chinese, ordinary people, live their lives. In the morning people wake up and do these fantastic practices, they do them consciously, because they believe in them. So, we have been to the monastery, we’ve learned these practices, we have done workshops in acupuncture and all kinds of things to get in contact with the culture… But the strangest thing was, I found myself struggling with a constant thought: how can I translate this into jewellery? This holistic, huge thing… I didn’t know how to react to the culture, the things I saw. I had no clue… It took some time and finally, step-by-step I started grasping it. I had one thing, a routine of making blind drawings, which I performed every day - during the journey, lying on the bed, in the evening - one or two each day. It became a journal, a story of my experiences. I believe that blind drawings are a direct connection between the belly and the hand. I ‘exclude’ the brain by not seeing what I’m doing. I can’t force, because I can’t see. My emotions come directly on paper. I think my hands are stronger than my brain, and my belly is in between. Of course, I guide this process, I ‘eat’ a lot of information, I read a lot, but at one moment I say: STOP. I ‘burn the books’ - that is an alchemic principle, meaning forgetting everything. And then I work, without thinking… So most of the time when I make something, I realize what I did only afterwards. I believe that when you grasp things too seriously, the beauty will retreat. When you want too much you will never get it, but if you do have a certain destination, but you let it go, it will come to you. It’s not about taking distance - you have to be completely in it, but not wanting… When I was in Xiamen, I saw incredible acupuncture medicine shops. You can get amazing body treatments there and I did everything they do because I was here, I was lonely and I wanted to know why are they doing these things. They have a hundred thousand treatments compared to what we have in the West. Once I went to a herbal medicine shop and saw the ‘supernatural’ Lingzhi mushroom there. I first saw it during my trip to China in 2000, I loved its shape, but I didn’t know what it was. I asked the shop lady and she said that Lingzhi is used to prolong the life of a dying person, by putting it in their mouth. And as the patient sucks on it, the liquids from the mushroom get into their body, helping them to live longer. My eyes popped open! I loved it. I thought it was fantastic! I was thinking about the Lingzhi when I was making my blind drawings… Soon I noticed that the drawings contained a figure. A man, maybe my alter ego... A human body and a human figure somehow were reappearing, like a main subject in the drawings. I was drawing men with distorted faces and thought they were the faces of the ‘eight immortals’ of Taoism. I really got obsessed. I was in the studio working for four weeks alone. I took big sheets of paper 80x100cm, stuck them to the wall and started making blind drawings with charcoal. I gave myself a precise time limit of 25 minutes. I’d set the alarm, close my eyes and start drawing. Only when the alarm would go off I’d open my eyes to see. Really being with each piece for 25 minutes was very intense. Three months later, after coming back to the Netherlands, I was still worried about the bump in my cheek. I asked for the best doctor and went to see him. For me it was just a regular check-up, so I came to the hospital alone. I was sitting there and the doctor said: “Oh!” I said: “What oh?” And he was like, well, it can be positive or negative. I had no idea what he was talking about. I asked what he meant. Then he said the word ‘cancer’ and I think I fainted. I was completely gone for a few seconds, all the blood drained out of my face, I was completely white. All these doctors came to help me… I remember I was trying to walk out of that room and everyone was following me, because they didn’t want to leave me alone… When I came back home and entered my studio I realized that the faces of the ‘eight immortals’ were actually me. I didn’t see this before. In my brain I was still into the abstracted notions of immortals, Lingzhi, a great story about sucking on a dead mushroom… Until I heard the words of the doctor: “Mr. Peters, you have cancer”. And there I was, standing in front of these eight drawings and I thought: “Shit!” I understood everything now. The first thing on my mind was: “I’m ok. I’m ok, I’m still in contact with my body”. My body knows more than my brain. It knows everything. It was a really powerful feeling that I was alive and I wanted to live. You also get extremely clear about things: ok, I don’t want to spend time with some people anymore, only the people who really matter, only people who really confront you. And also pieces that are not good are out. Jewellery without significance has no right to exist. When there are no balls in it, when there are no guts in it – forget it. I don’t want to walk on a smooth side. I don’t want to compromise. At that moment I thought it was over, I was going to die. But strangely enough two days later I was completely Zen. I became highly aware of every moment, my eyes were wide open, I could hear everything, I could smell everything. This never happened to me before. I realized how calm and kind I could be, being a drama queen that I am. Then the surgery happened. Something I still don’t understand: I went to the hospital a week after the operation and they said: “Ok, you are in good shape, you don’t need chemo or any such treatments. You are done.” I walked out of the hospital and said: “Back to normal now. Work.” And that is something strange, going quickly from a Zen experience of reevaluating life to “back to normal” in a finger snap. It was like “I die”, then “maybe I die”, then “I wouldn’t die” and then - “work!” I’m ALIVE! I shall show you that I’m alive! I will make things. Make-make-make, go-go-go! Text by Marina Elenskaya Photography by Jan Hoek This article was first published in #2 Youth issue of the CURRENT OBSESSION magazine

Dallas, Texas based artist Trey Wright highlights how we experience images today, with overflown social media feeds and bulky fashion magazines we judge quickly and are attracted to bright and vivid imagery. Wright refers to the consumerist culture cravings by staging physical mise en scène, where flat cut-out images of goods from fashion and lifestyle magazines become new 'objects of desire'. He plays with larger-then-life prints, sizes, angles and positions of 'objects' within each staged image and achieves a humorous yet bizarre outcome, balancing on the border of advertisement and surrealism. See more work by Trey Wright here

Moving On is a London-based collective consisting of 11 jewellery and object designers from 6 different countries. Three years ago they all met at the Royal College of Art in London and ever since operate as a united platform realising international jewellery-related projects. Their previous events included a walking exhibition throughout London in collaboration with the Design Museum, an exhibition at London Design Festival and an interactive promotional event at Schmuck international jewellery fair in Munich. Earlier this year, in April, CURRENT OBSESSION received an email from the collective introducing their new undertaking: a Kickstarter campaign to fund a presentation of their work at Milan Design Week (8 -13 April 2014). The campaign was successfully funded and girls went off to Milano to conquer the design world. CURRENT OBSESSION was following the project and decided to ask some of the collective's members about their overall experience and whether or not, in their opinion, Milan could become a potential new audience for contemporary jewellery. Questions are answered by: Margaux Clavel (MC), Sofie Boons (SB), Marina Stanimirovic (MS), Izzy Parker (IP), Molly Perrin (MP), Phylicia Gilijamse (PG) CO: What was your overall impression of the Fuori Salone ? MC: Milan design week seems to be a lot about networking. All the design world seems to gather in this city for a week and this is quite exciting. It seems like anything can happen even if sometimes nothing happens. SB: I didn't see a great deal but I felt that there was some really great things out there, but also a lot of uninteresting things. IP: I loved it, it has a good buzz particularly in Tortona and Ventura Lambrate. MP: As with all long standing events, there is always room for something new as well as the more established companies. The feedback I got from some viewers was that we were inspiring them and that we reminded them of Milan "back in the day" before things became about big names and brands. PG: I wasn't there throughout the whole week but it was kind of familiar. It is like Schmuck for design/furniture. I didn't have time to look at a lot of exhibitions but the atmosphere was really nice. Everyone is open for a chat! CO: Can you describe how you experienced Fuori Salone? MC: Contemporary jewellery could get more important in Milan... This is the right space to show the whole spectrum of the things you make and can work on, like the way many jewellers are making not only jewellery. SB: Pleasant, there was a real buzz among the people, and different venues. MS: Great, it is very nice to see everyone taking the city to show Design. You constantly meet people that you know and some other that you don't know! DesignersBlock helped us a lot to apprehend it and make it happen. IP: For me it was good research to understand the market and different design districts in Milan. MP: Lots to see, lots to do, lots of great people to talk too. Some of the events felt they needed a kick up the backside, like they have been the same for a decade or so. PG: Huge! Professional but also fresh, open to new people unlike maybe at Schmuck where fresh blood doesn't feel as welcome as in Milan. CO: Do you think Milano is a potential platform to show contemporary jewellery? MC: I think Milan could be a good platform for contemporary jewellery. Milan design week is huge and attracts a very important and international crowd. I think there is a space for jewellery, combined with objects and installations. But they get more interest when the pieces are potentially commercial products. As there are a lot of shop and gallery owners wandering around, a lot of press and bloggers too. SB: Yes, it attracts a lot of people with an interest for contemporary design so an opportunity to reach a different and wider audience. In contrast to Schmuck the Fuori Salone shows a wider variation of disciplines within the design range. However, there was, in my opinion, the visitors had little knowledge about contemporary jewellery, therefore the way it is presented is very important and possibly it might take a few years for it to work. MS: Yes, I think that it is definitely a future platform to show CJ. But unfortunately, it is too early at the moment the public mind, even for the design world, jewellery is still about "diamond and stuff". IP: Potentially yes, but press are more interested in furniture and lighting design, so if we could get some big magazines/design critics/journos on board that are interested in contemporary jewellery then I think the commercial end of contemporary jewellery could do well. MP: Yes. Visually oriented people are in Milan to find new things to enjoy and they are viewing things with the intention to understand them. As well as functional objects, there is a real focus on process and material, which jewellery-making explores in abundance. It's a perfect match in many ways. PG: hmm... not so sure actually. Yes, because there is not that much of it. But then no, because there isn't that much interest for it in Milan... CO: What was your overall experience and impression of DesignersBlock space? MC: DB was great as they allowed us to show somewhere we would never have been able to show without them. But it was really quiet as it was quite far from the centre. However, people seem to know about DB and some important contacts came (buyers, press). People came because they knew they would find something fresh and different but less professional. SB: The space was great, conceptually. The location was less convenient for the public, we did not have great numbers of people pass through the doors. I think it would be really interesting to present in a more central space and maybe even in the main event, to see what that is like. MS: The space! It was very particular and beautiful. Unfortunately, the district was new and not very well known which made it a bit quiet. IP: Curation was very good, but this year they chose to show in a new district which was a risk and meant there was less foot fall than usual, the district attracted a lot of big names but it was off the beaten track. I’m sure in a few years it will be a very busy district and we will be able to say we were part of what made that happen. DesignersBlock have good contacts in Milan, but of course they are in the furniture and lighting industry, so I felt that I didn't get that much exposure, but that's because I showed conceptual art jewellery rather than a commercial range, so my work was out of context. Next year I plan to show a range of big sculptural body pieces as well as a spin off commercial range, so I am more appealing to the audience. It’s all about finding a bridge between the different industries. MP: Great big space, at once off the beaten track and near to the central areas. DesignersBlock were very supportive about getting us to Milan and let us be very free with our display. The San Gregorio district of the Milan fair is new and has attracted some interesting designers, e.g. Wallpaper, Handmade and Droog. CO: What impressed you in the Fuori Salone and at DesignersBlock? SB: I really liked the space and the fact that DesignersBlock are creating opportunities for young designers to present their work in Milan. IP: The amount of events going on, there are endless exhibitions put on for the design week which is really enjoyable. MP: The volume of people coming to have a look, the variety of what was there. PG: The scale. It is a little bit too big! CO: Favourite thing you saw? SB: The Belgian Reflections stand. ;) MS: The Dutch and German section. IP: COS exhibition, Bart Hess installation and some great Dutch jewellers Hartog& Henneman. MP: Don't know about favourite things, but turning a corner and coming across some chandeliers with clown faces dancing to ballet music was definitely memorable! PG: I liked the Dutch networking evening. The whole setting was nice between the projects of the design academy and the gelato was great. CO: Do you feel contemporary jewellery has a chance to become more present in Milan? MC: There isn't much jewellery in the whole fair, so I guess you have more chances to get noticed in Milan than at a jewellery fair. SB: Yes, but it will take some time and will require sparking an interest in the public and educating them in some way. MS: Yes, but we're gonna have to fight for it... IP: I think we will see an increase of jewellery in Milan over the next few years but I have a feeling it will always be battling against furniture and lighting design. For batches of commercial collections I think it will work, but for one-off art jewellery I'm not sure. MP: It's an exciting time for jewellery in Milan, you may find yourself preaching to already converted. As long as what you are presenting is fresh and new, this audience has experience, knows a lot about a breadth of visual culture and often has great taste. This also means they are appreciative. Thanks to Sophie Main for compiling and editing the original text. The above text has been slightly edited by CURRENT OBSESSION.

DEPOT BASEL, space for contemporary design and CURRENT OBSESSION, contemporary jewellery magazine, present a collaborative curatorial effort in the context of Depot Basel’s ongoing exhibition series ‘CRAFT &...’.For CRAFT & BLING BLING ‘FAKE’ they commissioned work by twelve jewellery makers reflecting on the subject of ‚FAKE‘ from standpoints of jewellery history, their own work mediums or contemporary art and society. Work by Manfred Nisslmüller, Suska Mackert, Johanna Dahm and Cloe Floirat accompany the exhibition. The exhibition becomes a feature in the #3 FAKE issue of the Current Obsession magazine accompanied by Thomas Albdorf‘s photographs. JEWELLERY MAKERS Adam Grinovich, Barbara Schrobenhauser, Edgar Mosa, Florian Milker, Florian Weichsberger, Jing He, Julia Walter (Ju Walter), Kevin Hughes, Mallory Weston, Philip Eberle, Rainer Kaasik-Aaslav, Sophie Hanagarth Vernissage Thursday 05.06., 7 -10 PM Magazine launch + Apéro Monday 16.06., 5 -10 PM DEPOT BASEL VOLTASTRASSE 43 4056 BASEL SWITZERLAND www.depotbasel.ch www.current-obsession.com Photography by: Thomas Albdorf www.thomasalbdorf.com

#3 Fake Issue /SAW - 2014/ CURRENT OBSESSION is deliberately caught up in the issue of FAKE; and while this may sound like a painful acquisition, we sense it to be so much more revealing and promising than the negation of reality and originality it implies. FAKE deconstructs a given identity and makes deep marks into the superficiality of value, produce and glamour. #3 FAKE issue will be released in Basel, Switzerland on 16.06.14 The exhibition CRAFT & BLING BLING - FAKE co-curated by DEPOT BASEL place for contemporary design and CURRENT OBSESSION contemporary jewellery magazine will become the event preceding the launch of the #3 FAKE issue and a large editorial inside the magazine itself. Exhibition vernissage: 5th June 2014 Basel, Switzerland Magazine release: 16th June 2014, Basel, Switzerland during Art Basel Exhibition duration: 05.06. - 06.07.2014 More details soon.

Continuing my projects Idylle and Instant Idylle I am now focusing on the food product sugar, which is very important and ambivalent to me. On one hand it supplies me with a lot of energy, on the other hand it makes me feel good. I am fascinated by sugar. Sugar is available nearly all over the world. In Western civilisation sugar is omnipresent, obvious and hidden in our daily nutrition. This substance is a cultural achievement. It has a long history of changing relations between cultures and people. My work is treating the subject of sugar. Partly I work with children toys made of wood, I combine them in a playful or degenerative way, I cover them with liquid synthetic material and sprinkle them over with grinded plastics (Exzess). Another work consists of necklaces made of white lolly sticks, arranged in the shape of sugar crystals from scientific images. These images turn into differently wearable necklaces (kristallin). White brooches made of lolly sticks showing single words, so called homophones that highlight different aspects of sugar, depending in which language you read each word. With computer aided design (CAD) I constructed 3-d crystals from images showing saccharose crystals. Combining those crystals I designed a row of bracelets that look like an abundant display of sweets (Zuckerkristalle). The bracelets with the word sugar in different languages give the impression of sugar icing (Zucker - sugar etc.). Both groups of bracelets are pure white like processed sugar. While moving one can feel it constantly around the wrist. Sugar containers get their forms from local grown sugar beets. I cut some of the beets in the upper, others in the lower part before making negative forms out of plaster. By pouring bone china porcelain in these forms I produce different new sugar containers. The lid is made of white Carrara marble that glitters like sugar on the rough top part. Luzia Vogt, 2014 www.luziavogt.ch Images of "kristallin" necklaces are fotografed by Christian Metzler, Pforzheim, Germany. Remaining images are made by the artist.

Jing He likes to research on subjects concerning the archetypes of jewellery, for instance, the pin of the brooch, the string of the necklace and the circle of the ring. Among these basic elements, the pin attracts her a lot as it involves mechanical movement, function of connection, hardness of the substance, the motion of sharpening the pin, and wearing. It also raises many questions, such as what is the difference between a pin and a brooch, and where is the border between them? And how do they work? Instant Pins / Potential Pins She brings pins into other contexts and searches for the “Instant pins and potential pins” in daily objects. From A to B Jing is interested in the mass-produced object that can become a pin itself. 
In the series From A to B, She seeks for the connection between one box of nails and one package of needles and a way to build up the relation between them without adding any extra material. To be a brooch (to be wearable) is the reason to connect them together. Their original packages are also used as materials. Potential Pins – Folder She states the file folders as material and finds the potential for them to become a pin with their existing components. www.he-Jing.com

The Clash Project investigates what work for the body could be. It centers on the participants response to make an outfit that is wearable on the catwalk. Again, the 6th edition of the Clash Project is a collection not just made by one person, but by 10 that are referring on their existing, everyday work with the body as a platform. The invited participants are designer Ola Mirecka who played with Lego colors as she currently designs for them, artist Raoul Zöllner together with Viola from the blog Pinar Viola experiments with white socks, recently graduated jewelry maker Minou Lejeune that acts more like a stylist in her work and Shana Teugels made an outfit that shapes her kitch materials into a mermaid dress. Sanne Vaasen developed a previous work into a human worn cocoon, as jewelry design Gabriel Guevera pushed a detail of a existing brooch into an illuminated art work and Benten Clay's human excess come in form of a bear mask. Shaping material in form brought the girls from Ioia together which is reflected in the light blue foam suit, Dennis Vanderbroek gets fringy and shows flesh, acting it out in his performance and Marie Claire Krell brings it all down to a strong translation of her sculptural artwork involving scenario with a pinball gun. Again, in its 6th year, it gives an experimental context. The results are unexpected bodysuits and abstract visions of its maker that are different in colour, shape and material. None of the 10 outfits for this editions look alike. There is no trend factor. The opportunity creates a vast range of possible links between the disciplines. The select of participants scrambles linear approaches to produce unexpected constellations, revealing powerful connections between the participants profession and contribution. Benten Clay Dennis Vanderbroeck Gabriel Guevara Marie Claire Krell Minou Lejeune Ola Mirecka Raoul Zöllner & Viola Sanne Vaassen Shana Teugels Ioia By Matylda Krzykowski for FASHIONCLASH http://clashproject.tumblr.com http://fashionclash.nl/ Photography by Karen Kikkert http://www.karen-kikkert.com/ 2014 Sanne Vaassen (Artist) NL Dennis Vanderbroeck (Artist) NL Marie Claire Krell (Artist) NL Ioia (Product Designers) NL Shana Teugels (Jewellery Designer) BE Benten Clay (Artist Duo) DE Minou Lejeune (Jewellery Designer) NL Raoul Zöllner & Viola (Artists) DE/NL Ola Mirecka (Product Design) PL Gabriel Guevara (Designer) NL

TOUCH Alchimia Graduation Show An art jewellery exhibition showcasing the final work of eleven students, eight different nationalities, an expansive range of inquiry and a deep commitment to making. Each series of work unfolds a precise experience, hands speak in replacement of words, individual matters discuss universal themes in relation to the body as limit and extension. Touch is an invitation to feel. Carla Movia Daniela Malev Daria Borovkova Elena Gil Federica Sala Lilian Mattuschka María Ignacia Walker Melissa Arias Sana Khalil Organized by the graduating class, the exhibition offers an array of strong individual voices at the same time being an example of motivated collaboration. The students will be present during the whole duration of the show to talk about their work and experience.

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of The Sticky Brick Fingers, Henrik Vibskov’s Spring Summer 2015 collection. Stirred up by visions of rotating cement mixers, construction sites, bricks, swimming pools and water sports, Vibskov’s latest macrocosm is a whirlpool of outlandish invention. In collaboration with the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and choreographer Alexander Ekman, and as an extension of their recent production of Swan Lake at Oslo Opera House, the Paper Island in Copenhagen has been transformed into a wet and wild fantasy stage. A 150 m2 shallow pool has been constructed and filled with 4000 litres of water, inside which 10 dancers from the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet elegantly splish and splash their way through a routine devised by renowned Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman. An internationally acclaimed name in the world of dance, Ekman is recognised and sought-after for his unique ability to pair wit and playfulness. The brand new music with references to Tchaikovsky's original Swan Lake score, is written by New York based Swedish composer Mikael Karlsson, known for his collaboration with Swedish pop artist Lykke Li as well as Nederlands Dance Theater and the Royal Swedish Ballet. Models adorned with monk-like headpieces and specially made tight fitting neoprene water shoes tread the catwalk, and show a collection that is balanced perfectly between eccentric innovation and wearability. Fonts are blown up on knits, artworks rotate, and brick motifs become the building blocks of sweat styles. Double-faced jersey is cut up and re-constructed, and 3d structures are created out of intricately assembled patterns. Transparency is featured in striped net styles, and reflections of water and the body shapes of divers are constant themes in the collection. Silhouettes are round and curved, and divided circles come together to create relaxed summer suits. Upper bodies are long and stretched, shorts are classically Vibskov and low-crotched, and trousers are short. Strong orange, white and mint stand out amongst more subtle dark blues and curry shades. For the second season in a row, Vibskov has been working in co-operation with a non-profit organisation in India to produce khadi cotton, which is manufactured by hand by self-employed men and women in rural areas using traditional techniques. The cotton is processed without the use of electricity, and dyed using vegetable dyes, before being printed using hand-carved wood blocks. For the first time Vibskov is producing styles using an innovative mud and indigo printing technique. The show is produced in collaboration with the Danish Arts Foundation and Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Photo credit: Victor Jones Credit: www.alastairphilipwiper.com Thanks to Agency V, Copenhagen