Why Do I Make Jewelery?
To say it in a few words :
I love making things which are related to the body.
When I start working, I have intuitions, materials, desires and doubts. The work is the result of ideas that I could materialize and that became a project. I hope it is able to stimulate other’s emotions and open doors to their own imagination. A piece of Jewelery should provoke ! Provoke questions, provoke emotions, provoke desires !

Esther Brinkmann, 1953, Baden, Switzerland.

1973-2005 living and working in Geneva
2005-2010 living and working in Guangzhou, PR of China
since September 2010 living and working in Mumbai, India 

Education:
1974-78 School for Applied Arts, Geneva, diploma as a Jeweller

Collections:
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva (CH) | Swiss federal office for culture: deposit at mu.dac (museum for Applied Arts and Contemporary Design), Lausanne (CH) | FNAC, France (National Found for Contemporary Art): deposit at Musée des arts décoratifs (museum for Applied Arts), Paris (F) |  Museo Internazionale delle Arti Applicate Oggi (MIAAO) Torino, Italy.

Awards, grants:
2000 Brunschwig-Price for Applied Arts 2000*
1998 Price for The Applied Arts, Geneva States Community Association
1981/82 Lissignol Grant, Geneva 

Solo Exhibitions:
2010 “East West - DONG XI” Feigallery, Guangzhou*
2009 “Clouds and other dreams of Jewels”, GOELIA 225 Space, Guangzhou
2008 “Not for your body only” Feigallery, Guangzhou*
2004 Galerie Tactile, Geneva
2000/01 Clock and Enamel Museum, Geneva (Brunschwig-Price) *
2000 Villa am Aabach, Uster (CH), with Philippe Solms, sculptor
2000/1995/90/84 Galerie Michèle Zeller, Berne (CH) *
1997 Galerie Ipsofakto, Lausanne (CH)
1995 Galerie a,Carouge/Geneva (CH) | Werkstattgalerie, Berlin (D), with Juliane Brandes
1994 Galerie V&V, Vienna (A) *
1991 Galerie NO, Lausanne (CH)
1987 Galerie Farel, Aigle (CH) 

Group Exhibitions (selection):
2010 « décor, design et industrie, les arts appliqués à Genève » Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Genève* |  galerie tactile, Genève
2008 “from hand to hand”, mudac, Museum of contemporary design and art, Lausanne, CH* | “just must”, Estonian History Museum, Tallinn*, Estonia
2004/05 “Pensieri preciosi” Padova (I)*, Hanau (D)
2004/05/06 “l’or” European Jewellery, St. Amont, Cagnes/mer, Paris (F)*
2004 « meeting points », Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon*
2002/2003 “Masterpieces” 2002 Centenario, Palazzo Bricherasio, Torino, (I) * |Art Jewellery in Switzerland in the 20th century, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, Nationalmuseum, Zurich, Museo vela, Ligornetto | “Pièce à conviction”, galerie Tactile, Geneva, (CH) | Louise Smit Gallery, Amsterdam, (Nl)
2001 „Swiss made“, Museum for Applied Arts, Köln, (D)* | „Mikromegas“, Galerie für angewandte Kunst, Munich, (D)*
2000 "Alles Schmuck", Museum for Applied Arts, Zurich* | "Parures d'ailleurs,parures d'ici", MuDAC, Lausanne* | "Risonanze", Swiss Consulate, Venice (I)
1999 Galleria Marcolongo, Padova (I) | "Noir", Museum for Applied Arts, Lausanne (CH)
1998 "Jewellery Moves", National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (GB) *
1998/97 Kunstforum, Kirchberg (CH) *
1997 "Useless Things", Museum for Applied Arts, Tallinn (Estonia) * | "Millenium 2", Roterman's Saltstorage House, Tallinn *
1996 Michèle Zeller gallery, Berne (CH), | "in the Flowergarden...", Gallery V&V, Vienna (A) *
1994 Schmuckforum, Zurich (CH)
1993 "Schmuckszene 93", int. Craftsfair, Munich (D) * | "Amulet", Marzee gallery, Nijmegen (NL) *
1992/90/87 "Triennale du Bijou contemporain", Paris (F) *
1989 "Combs", Boymans Museum, Rotterdam (NL) * et Marzee gallery, Nijmegen (NL) *
1988 "Swiss Jewellery", Swiss Cultural Center, Paris (F) *
* Catalogues, books

Others:
2004 Collect, galerie tactile Geneva, V&A Museum, London
2000/1999 SOFA, Charon Kransen, New York and Chicago (USA)
1996 , Milus watches, Bienne (CH) *
*Catalogues 

Teaching:
2003 Appointed to a professorship HES at the University of Art and Design of Geneva (HEAD)
1987 Founding of the Jewellery department at Haute Ecole d’Arts Appliqués (HES), Genève (CH)
1987-2005 head of the department
1983-87 Teaching at Ecole des arts décoratifs, Genève (CH)

Lectures, workshops, Masterclasses:
2010 Lecture at the Indian Institute of Jewellery, Mumbai
2010 Lecture at Guangzhou University of Technology, design department
2009 Workshops at Nanjing Art Institute, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts | Lecture at Beijing Academy of Fine Arts
2007/1993 International Summer Art Academy, Salzburg (A)
2008/07 Lectures at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Foshan University, Shunde Polytechnic University
2006 Lecture at the Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou and Guangzhou Design Week
2004 Lecture at the symposium of the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, Edinburgh (GB)
2000 Lecture at the foundation for applied arts, Berne, CH
1999 Lecture at Château Musée in Nyon (CH) | Lecture at Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, Zurich (CH) Industrial Design and Jewellery department | Lecture at Akademie der Künste, Munich (D)
1997 Lecture at Rhode Island School of Design, Jewellery department, Providence, RI (USA) | Lecture at the "Millenium 2" symposium, Tallinn (Estonia)
1996 Masterclass at Art University Tallinn (Estonia)
1995 Workshop Schmuckwerkstatt, Braunwald (CH)
since 1987 Several workshops, Ateliers pluridisciplinaires de Fontblanche, Vitrolles and Nîmes (F)

Others:
2003-2005 Head of the R&D project: “A Material library for 3 Art and Design Universities”. Geneva, Lausanne, La Chaux-de-Fonds Feasibility study: state of the art, specific data base, budget.
2001/2002 Co-curator of the exhibition : Art Jewellery in Switzerland 20th century. Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva, mai 2002 with Fabienne.X. Sturm, director of the musée de l’horlogerie, Geneva and public conference: “is ornament still a crime?” mai 2002, MAH Geneva | Expert at Academy of Arts, Tallin, Estonia, for the election of professor and head of jewellery and metal department .
2000-2005 Jury-member for the Lissignol / Berthoud grant, Geneva
1996-98 Expert at the Swiss Federal Commission for Applied Art Prices, field: Jewellery and objects.
1992-98 Comity-member of the Swiss Crafts Council. (today FormForum)

2008 Just must, Kadri Mälk, Arnoldsche Art Publishers
2006 DESIGNsuisse, Hochparterre SRG SSR idée Suisse, editor Hochparterre Scheidegger, Spiess
2004 Minimal Rings, Arch Gregory, Full Spectrum Publishing, USA
2002 Art Jewellery in Switzerland in the 20th Century, MAH, Geneva, Bibliothèque des Arts, Lausanne (fr./engl./dt./it)
2001 CD-ROM, Virtual Gallery of Contemporary Jewellery, University of Birmingham, (UK) | Swiss made, Hochparterre Editor, Zurich (CH)
2000 Alles Schmuck, Lars Müller Editor, Baden (CH)
1999 Schmuckzeichen Schweiz 20.Jht., A. Ricklin-Schelbert, St.Gallen (CH)
1998 Dictionnaire international du Bijou, Editions du Regard, Paris (F) | The Ring, Silvie Lambert, Rotovision (CH,UK) | Videoportrait: Price for The Applied Arts, Geneva States Community Association 

Writings:
2005 in Sonia Morel, Bijoux
2002 “Is ornament still a crime?” in: Art Jewellery in Switzerland in the 20th Century, MAH, Geneva, Bibliothèque des Arts, Lausanne (fr./engl./dt./it) in Kunsthandwerk und Design, Köln, November 2002
2000 Foreword in « 10 morceaux choisis » Sophie Hanagarth

TV
2009 Portrait, Guangdong TV, English Channel
2006 DESIGNsuisse, 3 CH national channels2002 Faxculture, TSR, June 2, 2002

Galerie Tactile, Geneva (CH) www.tactile.ch
Galerie V&V, Vienna (A)
Feigallery, Guangzhou (China) www.feigallery.com