This internationally renowned, juried exhibition of contemporary jewelry is the oldest and most visited exhibition of its kind. Inaugurated in Munich in 1959, Schmuck (German for "jewelry") has been held there every year. Over the decades, Schmuck has enjoyed growing attendance as well as increasingly important attention from the international press. In 2006, the exhibition includes works by 60 established and emerging artists from more than 20 countries. The pieces are created by leading international jewelry artists known for their innovative approaches to materials and techniques.

This is the premiere showing of Schmuck in the United States and is part of a continuing program of jewelry-related projects that will culminate in the Center for the Study of Contemporary Jewelry at MAD’s new home at Two Columbus Circle.

Schmuck 2006: International Contemporary Jewelry is organized by the Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern and supported by the Danner Stiftung and The Karma Foundation.

Schmuck 2006 Includes Some 100 New Works by International Jewelry Artists
And Honors the Achievement of American Thomas Gentille

Exhibition Anticipates Opening of MAD’s New Jewelry Center at Two Columbus Circle

NEW YORK, February 1, 2006—Schmuck, the oldest and most prestigious annual exhibition of international contemporary jewelry, will be presented for the first time in the United States at the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) from May 18 through September 3, 2006. Displaying the work of 63 jewelry artists from 21 countries, Schmuck 2006 marks the forty-seventh presentation of this juried Munich-based exhibition. MAD’s groundbreaking partnership with Schmuck anticipates the 2008 opening of the Museum’s new home at Columbus Circle, the facilities of which will include a center for the exhibition and study of contemporary art jewelry.

“Since its inception, Schmuck has been an amazing barometer of the trends in cutting-edge jewelry,” said Wolfgang Lösche, Director of Exhibitions and Fairs at the Chamber of Trade and Craft of Munich and Upper Bavaria. “Each year, the energy and groundbreaking potential of these new works creates a palpable sense of anticipation across Europe, and we are delighted to be working with the Museum of Arts & Design in New York to bring this exhibition to the United States for the first time.”

Schmuck, which means “jewelry” in German, has chronicled the evolution of contemporary art jewelry since 1959. Organized each spring in Munich by the Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern and, as of 2006, supported by the Danner Stiftung, the juried exhibition showcases the recent work of established artists and emerging talent. Since 1973, the annual exhibition has awarded the prestigious Herbert Hofmann prize to three jewelry artists, who submit the most outstanding and innovative contributions. For the past twelve years, Schmuck has included a focus exhibition dedicated to the Klassiker der Moderne, an influential and esteemed jewelry artist who has demonstrated consistent strength in concept, materials, and technique throughout his or her career.

“Contemporary jewelry is a vital art form that reflects evolving social and cultural values while boldly embracing new technology and materials,” said Holly Hotchner, director, Museum of Arts & Design. “For the past fifty years, both Schmuck and the Museum have defined the vanguard of jewelry by championing artists who pushed traditional ideas of function, context, and beauty. It is a pleasure and an honor to partner with an institution that plays such an important role in supporting contemporary jewelry design.”

Over 400 artists from around the world submitted work for Schmuck 2006, which was juried by Ruudt Peters, renowned Dutch jewelry artist and professor for jewelry at the Konstfack, the University College of Arts Crafts and Design in Stockholm, Sweden. The exhibition features over 100 works and highlights the diversity of process and material utilized by today’s jewelry artists. Schmuck 2006 will honor Thomas Gentille as the first American Klassiker der Moderne with a show of 30 works.

“From gold to wood, titanium to acrylic, Thomas Gentille finds the souls of his materials, masterfully bringing texture, color, light, and form together in dynamic balance and sophisticated counterpoint,” said Ursula Ilse-Neuman, Curator at the Museum of Arts & Design and coordinating curator of Schmuck 2006. “Gentille’s work is abstract and cerebral with careful regard to subtle color combinations and refined surface treatments, but his pieces truly come alive when they are worn.”

The last twenty years of Schmuck reflect the globalization of the contemporary jewelry scene, signified by the participation of artists from across Europe, the United States, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Korea, and Japan. Past prize winners include the finest artists in the field, such as Friedrich Becker (Germany), Hellen Britton (Australia), Arline Fisch (United States), Hermann Jünger (Germany), Otto Künzli (Switzerland), Daniel Kruger (South Africa), Francesco Pavan (Italy), and Peter Skubic (Austria).

The exhibition opens in Munich on March 16, 2006 at the Internationale Handswerksmesse München (IHM), before traveling to the Museum of Arts & Design in May.


Thomas Gentille

Recognized internationally for a lifetime of contributions to the field of art jewelry, Thomas Gentille is the first American artist to be designated a Klassiker der Moderne and will have a special exhibition dedicated to his work in Schmuck 2006. Over a career spanning nearly fifty years, Gentille has continually invented new processes to manipulate a wide range of materials. Many of his explorations have been with materials rarely used for jewelry, including wood, aluminum, acrylic, new synthetic materials, and eggshell inlay. His work often juxtaposes unexpected combinations—such as pumice stone and pure pigment, silk thread and ebony, acrylic and model aircraft plywood—and is noted for its subtle colors, sophisticated surface treatments, and balanced compositions.

Born in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1936, Gentille graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1958. He has instructed students and advanced jewelry makers at leading centers and schools for craft and art throughout the United States and abroad. His book, Step by Step Jewelry, published in 1968, has become a key reference book for jewelry makers. At Schmuck 2001 Gentille became the second American to receive the Herbert Hoffmann prize; he also received the Bavarian State Prize in 2004. Gentille’s work is in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany; The Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Canada; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Cooper Hewitt Museum, Smithsonian Institution, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; and the Museum of Arts & Design, New York.


Contemporary Jewelry at MAD

The Museum of Arts & Design began collecting jewelry soon after opening its doors in 1956. Documenting the evolution of the field internationally, from post-War to the present day, MAD’s permanent collection also features works by seminal American figures, such as West Coast artist Margaret de Patta and Greenwich Village artists Sam Kramer, Art Smith, Ed Wiener, and Frank Rebajes, who revolutionized art jewelry in the United States.

With the opening of MAD’s new home at Two Columbus Circle in 2008, the Museum’s collection will be housed in a new center dedicated to the study of art jewelry, the first resource of its kind

in the United States. The center will provide scholars, students, and enthusiasts with on-site and online access to a wide range of information on the history, design, and criticism of jewelry. It will host exhibitions, workshops, lectures, seminars, and international conferences that will explore issues relevant to jewelry making and relationships with the other arts. An artists-in-residence program will also be established in studios within the new building.


Recent jewelry exhibitions at the MAD include Treasures from the Vault: Contemporary Jewelry from the Permanent Collection (2004); Seaman Schepps: A Century of New York Jewelry Design 1904-2004 (2004); Elegant Fantasy: The Jewelry of Arline Fisch (2002); Zero Karat: The Donna Schneier Gift to the Museum of Arts & Design (2002); and Radiant Geometries: Fifteen International Jewelers (2001).


Exhibition Catalogue

A full-color, 84-page catalogue will accompany the exhibition. The catalogue will include a bilingual foreword by Museum of Arts & Design Director Holly Hotchner and a tribute to Thomas Gentille by Curator Ursula Ilse-Neuman.

Museum of Arts & Design (MAD)

The Museum of Arts & Design is the country’s leading cultural institution dedicated to the collection and exhibition of contemporary objects created in a wide range of media, including clay, glass, wood, metal, and fiber. The Museum celebrates materials and processes that are embraced by practitioners in the fields of craft, decorative arts, and design. MAD’s distinguished permanent collection includes more than 2,000 objects by renowned artists and designers from around the world, representing many forms of creative expression and technical mastery. The Museum will move to a new 54,000 square-foot building at Two Columbus Circle in Manhattan in 2008. In its new home, designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture in collaboration with Handel & Associates, the Museum will be able to display works from its permanent collection in dedicated collection galleries for the first time in its history.

To see images of all the works selected at Schmuck 2006 in Munich please go to:
www.hwk-muenchen.de

List of selected artists:

Altschuler Silvie, Kanada/Canada
Bauhuis Peter, Deutschland/Germany
Bennett James, USA
Betz Doris, Deutschland/Germany
Bezúch Matej, Slowakische Republik
Body Politics, Deutschland/Germany
Biermann Helena, Kolumbien/Kolumbia
Björkman Sofia, Schweden/Sweden
Blank Alexander, Deutschland/Germany
Bott Esther, Deutschland/Germany
Braga Célio, Brasilien/Brasil
Braham Frédéric, Frankreich/France
Britton Helen, Australien/Australia
Bronger Sigurd, Norwegen/Norway
Dudek Diana, Deutschland/Germany
Eichenberg Iris, Niederlande/NL
Farré Claret Jordi, Spanien/Spain
Gilmour Elizabeth, Großbritannien/GB
Guttmann Ursula, Österreich/Austria
Hällzon Catarina, Schweden/Sweden
Hedman Daniela, Schweden/Sweden
Heerkens Ineke, Niederlande/NL
Hirv Piret, Estland/Estonia
Hooper Rory, Israel
Hwang Inkyoung, Korea
Ishida Meiri, Japan
Janosik Andrea, USA
Jivetin Sergey, USA
Jocz Daniel Harmon, USA
v. Joolingen Machtheld, Niederlande
Kruger Daniel, Südafrika/South Africa
Kuiper Erik, Niederlande/NL
Larsson Agnes, Schweden/Sweden
Lehmann Florence, Frankreich/France
Lehtinen Helena, Finnland/Finland
Lindholm Helena Maria, Schweden/Sweden
Mehus Konrad, Norwegen/Norway
Monzo Mark, Spanien/Spain
Mustonen Eija, Finnland/Finland
Nuis Carla, Niederlande/NL
Nuutinen Maria, Finnland/Finland
Nyland Evert, Niederlande/NL
de Oliviera Cilmara, Brasilien/Brasil
Pinchuk Anya, USA
Plantydt Annelies, Niederlande/NL
Pontoppidan Karen, Dänemark/Dk
Schmidt Klara, Schweden/Sweden
Schobinger Bernhard, Schweiz/CH
Scholz Nicola, Deutschland/Germany
Schreiber Constanze, Niederlande/NL
Seufert Karin, Niederlande/NL
Sonne Bo Kirstine, Dänemark/Denmark
Steinhäusler Sabine, Deutschland/D
Tanner Nelli, Finnland/Finland
Tolvanen Terhi, Finnland/Finland
Tuupanen Tarja, Finnland/Finland
Vallejo Carolina, Dänemark/Denmark
Veenre Tanel, Estland/Estonia
Visintin Graziano, Italien/Italy
Vogt Luzia, Schweiz/Switzerland
Walker Lisa, Neuseeland/New Zealand
Weichsberger Florian, Deutschland/D
Zanella Annamaria, Italien/Italy


Retrospektive in Schmuck 2006
Thomas Gentille, USA

For more information or images, please contact:

Patrick Keeffe
Museum of Arts & Design
212-956-3535 x113
patrick.keeffe@madmuseum.org jackley@resnicowschroeder.com


Juliet Sorce / Joseph Ackley
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
212-671-5158 / 5154 jsorce /