Crafts Curatorial Professional Development Visit to Munich Spring 2008
Introduction
International Crafts Fair
Exhibitions/Galleries
Studio Visits
Future events
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The Scottish Arts Council Crafts department supported a three day Crafts Curators Professional Development Visit to the International Crafts Fair, Munich in Spring 2008. |
During the annual International Crafts Fair the jewellery world descends on Munich. This internationally renowned event features four key exhibitions:- ‘Schmuck’, ‘Exempla’, ‘Talente’ and ‘Meister der Moderne’. The fair is also accompanied by ever increasing numbers of exhibition openings, lectures, book presentations, and events across Munich.
The Scottish Arts Council Crafts department supported a three day Crafts Curators Professional Development Visit to the International Crafts Fair in Munich in Spring 2008. Professionals in the visual and applied arts, working in curatorial, education and developmental roles, from eight organisations across Scotland participated.
The trip allowed the group the opportunity to see international juried work from around 30 countries, network with international curators/makers and visit a selection of contemporary maker’s studios. The trip was organised by Crafts Officer Hazel Townsend with support from staff at Handswerkshammer fur Munchen und Oberbayern and Munich based maker Christine Graf, who accompanied the group during the trip.
The focus for the trip was the International Crafts Fair which is held at the International Trade Fair site on the outskirts of Munich. This unique fair has been taking place every year in Spring since 1949 and showcases the capabilities of the trades and crafts sectors in their widest sense.
Hall A1 features contemporary craft and design including four specially curated exhibitions:- ‘Schmuck’, ‘Exempla’, ‘Talente’ and ‘Meister der Moderne’ as well as stands by organisations such as the Bayerischer Kunstgewerbe-Verein (Bavarian Crafts Council) and Think Tank (a European initiative for the applied arts), and also a number of stands representing design schools from across Germany. This hall was the focus of the visit.
One group member commented, “The sheer scale of the event in the broadest sense of design was exceptional; the International Fair covered a tremendous mix of international craft juxtaposed by a well considered mix of architectural craft and design”.
Schmuck
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This prestigious jewellery exhibition shows the best of contemporary jewellery from across the world. Schmuck, which means jewellery in German, showcases the recent work of established artists as well as emerging talent. |
This year the exhibition featured the work of 59 jewellers from 21 countries and was curated by London based freelance writer Ralph Turner. Each year an established jeweller is honoured as the ‘Klassiker der Moderne’ and this year Austrian maker Peter Skubic was selected, and a retrospective of his work showcased.
Exempla
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This themed exhibition took the broad theme of ‘Ornament’ this year. It featured a wide range of work, from architectural glass to wallpaper. Makers from across the globe, including central Africa, Japan and India were invited to demonstrate techniques and processes, as well as exhibit finished work. |
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Visitors were able to observe the makers working and talk to the makers about their work and practice. Jeweller Helen Britton had recreated her studio on her exhibition stand and spoke to the group about her work and inspiration.
Talente
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This exhibition focuses on makers under the age of 30 working in design, technology and crafts. Nominations for artists are sought from academies, universities and arts and crafts organisations from around the world and the work selected is very diverse. The work of 99 makers, from 23 countries, was selected this year with strong representation in textiles and glass. |
Meister der Moderne
This exhibition features the work of around 30 well established makers, working at the forefront of their field. Scottish jeweller Peter Chang was featured this year, as was Christine Graf.
The trip included visits to a number of galleries including:-
Galerie Biro
This small gallery specialises in exhibiting plastic jewellery, representing several notable international artists. Gallery owner Olga Zobel introduced the gallery to the group and spoke about her views on contemporary jewellery. The gallery was showing new work by Rebecca Hannon (USA) who spoke to the group about her practice and her links with Munich and European galleries.
Little Red House
Contemporary Jewellery Art Installation
Proteesiryhmä : Anna Rikkinen and Nelli Tanner
This exhibition was hidden in the basement space of a design agency. Anna Rikkinen and Nelli Tanner formed ‘Proteesiryhmä’ in 2004 to question the relationship between space, body and jewellery in the form of an art installation. Nelli and Anna spoke to the group about the exhibition and projects they had developed together.
Pinokothek der Moderne
This impressive museum houses large modern art, design and architecture collections including a large contemporary jewellery collection on display at the ‘Danner-Rotunda’ in the basement. A large retrospective exhibition opened on the first night of the trip showing work of past and present students of Otto Künzli, Head of the Goldsmiths School at Munich’s Academy of Fine Arts. This large exhibition, entitled “The Fat Booty of Madness”, was a maze of cabinets which featured outstanding work from over 50 influential makers.
Galerie Spektrum
Galerie Spektrum is a small internationally renowned contemporary jewellery gallery very close to the Pinokethek der Moderne. Co-director and jeweller Marianne Schliwinski opened the gallery especially for our group and introduced the gallery and the current exhibition of work by Karen Pontoppidan. Other jewellers showcased in the gallery included Peter Skubic, Ted Norton, Ruud Peters and Bettina Speckner.
Galerie Handwerk
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Gallery director Wolfgang Löesch welcomed and introduced our group to the gallery, which was showing an exhibition, entitled ‘40 Jahre’. This exhibition, celebrating 40 years of this large sophisticated gallery featured the work of a wide range of international makers working in different media including: Giampaolo Babetto, Giovanni Corvaija, Hermann Jünger, Daniel Kruger, Jacqueline Ryan and Gert Rothmann. |
Galerie fur Angewandete Kunst
The Bayerischer Kunstgewerbe-Verein (BKV) is an organisation for the professional crafts sector with approximately 400 members working in jewellery, silver, metal, glass, ceramics, textiles, wood and paper. Its main task is the promotion of crafts in Bavaria. The association runs a newly styled showroom in the town centre of Munich with an adjoining contemporary crafts gallery. The showroom has a wide variety of crafts on show, all of which were for sale and of a wide price range. The gallery showed a solo exhibition of the work of the internationally acclaimed Karl Fritsch, entitled ‘Metrosideros Robusta’.
During the course of the weekend the group visited three very different maker studios including the studio of Peter Bauhuis, the studio of Karl Fritsch, Mari Ishikawa and Caroline von Steinau-Steinrück and the studio of David Bielander, Doris Betz and Helen Britton. These ‘behind the scenes’ studio visits were perhaps particularly useful for encouraging debate but also were an invaluable opportunity to discuss individual artists’ practice and ask questions about education, training, skill, inspiration, processes, selling work etc. One member of the group commented, “The Munich trip offered a comprehensive overview of contemporary jewellery by both well established and new makers. Of particular value, were the meetings with gallerists and makers in their studios. The latter provided opportunities to engage with individuals on a more personal level and gauge the economic climate of contemporary jewellery in the international field”.
Peter Bauhuis
Peter has quite a small studio on his own, crammed from floor to ceiling with interesting sketches, collected objects, books, and work in progress etc – quite an Aladdin’s cave. His work is predominantly cast; wax models are immersed in plaster, the wax is burned out and molten metal is poured into the resulting cavity. Peter’s work is very much influenced by the actual process, exploring the reactions of different alloys together, experimenting with casting temperatures, and using metal ores to create quite beautiful surfaces. The process is quite far from the image of silversmiths hammering flat pieces of metal into intricate vessels but certainly no less skilful. This connection with a process was one of the points of debate in the studio as well as the use and importance of documentation within his practice.
Karl Fritsch
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This studio visit was quite different in that Karl shares with other jewellers Mari Ishikawa and Caroline von Steinau-Steinrück. They had put together a small showcase exhibition downstairs, so we didn’t actually have the opportunity to see their benches, work in progress etc. Karl had also invited his friend and Australian jeweller Robert Baines to exhibit with the group. |
Robert was actually there when we arrived and kindly talked about his work and research with our group. Karl spoke about his training and the traditions of goldsmithing/jewellery and how this influenced his practice, as well as talking about some of his projects/collaborations, the importance of the ‘ring’ in his work, the relationship between the work and the body, and perceptions of preciousness.
David Bielander, Doris Betz and Helen Britton
Helen spoke to the group on her stand as part of ‘Exempla’ but we were also fortunate enough to be able to visit her actual studio, which she shares with David Bielander and Doris Betz who met us there. This again was a very different studio visit, and it was interesting to talk to Doris and David together and hear about their contrasting approaches. The studio also has a bench for regular residencies, and it was interesting to hear how this worked, as well as discuss the differences between training in Germany and the UK. This was the last visit made on the trip and a very fitting note to finish on.
Informal networking
Informal events such as the ‘Jeweller Get-together Feast’ in the Augustiner beer cellar in Munich and a curators dinner (with invited curators from Munich) provided valuable opportunities for informal discussion and networking. A main advantage of visiting such an event as part of a group is the discussion and debate that occurs amongst the participants. One group member commented “The varied specialisms within the group meant that I enjoyed many good conversations and exchanges of thoughts… there is limited opportunity in a general day-to-day basis to engage in focussed and challenging conversations about contemporary craft and applied arts”.
Outcomes
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Participants highlighted a number of benefits to both their organisations and to their own professional development from taking part in this trip. All had current or future projects that this trip will feed into; this varied from inclusion of contemporary jewellery in an up coming exhibition to more strategic development plans relating to the presentation of contemporary craft within an organisation. |
One group member commented on the trip, “It was like immersing myself in a wonderful craft indulgence for the whole weekend and although it was tiring it was such a stimulating experience and I was sorry to say farewell to the other members of the group and indeed Munich”,
If you are a curator based in Scotland working in the Visual Arts and/or Crafts and would like to know more about future professional development opportunities please contact Hazel Townsend, Crafts Officer hazel.townsend@scottisharts.org.uk. |