Fritsch utilises traditional precious materials

Nestled in between Manchester Art Gallery's world renowned art collections, stretching from the historic to the contemporary and everything in between, is a jewellery exhibition like no other. Until 23 June, the gallery is playing host to the first UK solo exhibition from internationally acclaimed jewellery designer Karl Fritsch, whose unique and boundary pushing pieces of work are sought after for exhibitions and by collectors across the world.

The unusual (and sometimes quite bizarre) collection features handcrafted pieces of jewellery where every process, from the soldering to the setting, has been completed by Fritsch himself – making each individual piece truly unique, right down to his fingerprints leaving their mark within the metals as a design feature. His work doesn’t place importance on perfection, but rather on each piece having a different story to tell.

Fritsch utilises traditional precious materials that you would expect to find in fine jewellery, such as gold and gemstones, and uses processes such as oxidisation, where he purposefully tarnishes and distresses these materials and combines them with non-precious objects. Even rusty screws are used to create pieces that are both ornate and 'decayed' or 'neglected' at the same time. The once bright and polished gold and silver materials are unrecognisable, reduced from their former glistening glory to their dull and dark oxidised form. These oxidised bands, often intricate and delicate, are juxtaposed with beautifully cut glass stones and gemstones, often piled high on top of each other and within the designs of the manipulated metal.

Some pieces feature nails piercing through gemstones and holding them in place, cut cylinders of gemstones interlocking and protruding through mounds of black metal, and show-stopping miniature sculptures, including a jewel-encrusted bronze cow sitting proudly on top of a ring, which would be considered unwearable by most due to the sculpture's actual size and weight!

Fritsch's jewellery completely breaks the boundaries of jewellery design and shows that it is possible to work even non-precious materials into something exquisite. His designs are praised as wearable pieces of avant-garde art, with each piece exciting and intriguing. Over his career, he has never failed to surprise with his lavish, ornamental and often outrageous collections. A jewellery show of this calibre and exclusivity is rarely seen in the UK, and is a must-attend event for anyone interested in design – and many of Fritsch's pieces are also available to purchase, with prices starting from (a pretty reasonable) ￡100.

Long is a studio jeweller and says that by accessorising our outfits with pendants and other beautiful objects, we are all curators of art.

An array of hand-wrought pendants crafted by Long is now on display at the La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre.

The Wearer as Curator is the La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre’s first exhibition of jewellery.

“It’s 25 pendants and one sculpture,” Long said.

“The idea is all about making art more accessible.

“Often art’s a bit removed from the lives of every day people.

“A lot of people don’t realise that when they put on a pendent, almost every day, they’re curating their own art exhibition – that’s why its called Wearer as Creator.

“They make sure they wear the right neckline, the right colours – they’re curating.

“So it’s trying to make that point that art is part of our everyday lives, it’s not something that’s removed.”

Long said the exhibition also highlighted that jewellery was also art.

“This is not your fashion jewellery, this is art jewellery.

“I refer to myself as a studio jeweller, which means that I design and make all my own work.

“So I see it through from the conception, to making it and selling it.”

Long uses sterling silver as a base for most of his creations and adorns them with various items including Bakelite buttons.

The exhibition also includes a life-sized sculpture designed by Long and constructed by Ian Dell.

“Mankind has been making pendants from the earliest time,” Long said in his artist’s statement.

“Most of these have had specific and practical purposes, including to bring luck and good fortune, to ward off evil spirits, to identify with tribes and kinfolk, to denote status and so on.

“But as societies have evolved and become more sophisticated the practical has gradually become more subjugated to the decorative and ornamental.

“Of all the different types of jewellery, pendants have often been a critical accessory because of their prominent position on the body and their central position on a chain.”
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