The Rings of Saturn by Bernhard Schobinger – The Stedelijk Museum , Netherlands
The Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch presents Bernhard Schobinger: the Rings of Saturn. This first retrospective of the Swiss artist Bernhard Schobinger will show about a hundred items of jewellery that provide a picture of his disturbing method. Like a modern alchemist, Schobinger collects all kinds of materials and then transforms then into pieces of jewellery that contain references to present and past, value and recycling, beauty and decay.
The exhibition presents the objects as anarchic products and idiosyncratic collector’s trophies. Each piece tells a story, such as the ring Time Out. This case was rejected for a watch, but it was a precious find for Schobinger. He literally took the time out of the object to suggest the need to take time out every now and then. His Flaschenhalskette (‘bottlenecklace’) is ambiguous not only in its title but also in its meaning: Schobinger turned a necklace into a dangerous object. It is this challenging mentality that is the focus of the exhibition.
Schobinger: ‘I discover an idea or a vitality in the objects I find. They have been marked by everyday use or destroyed by people or by nature. A great potential lies in that destruction, and I make use of it.’ Bernhard Schobinger is one of the leading avant-garde artistic jewellery designers of today. The artist has an international reputation as a provocative, innovative artist’s artist. His unorthodox way of working excites the public and collectors as well as serving as a source of inspiration for other designers. Schobinger received the prestigious Françoise van den Bosch Award in 1998. This award is presented by an international jury in honour of an influential oeuvre in contemporary jewellery design
Bernhard Schobinger Neckpiece: Flaschenhalskette (‘bottlenecklace’), 1998 – glass, Metal wire
Bernhard Schobinger Ring: Sunset, 2013 rock crystal, Steel, diamond, silver, cinnabar
Bernhard Schobinger Neckpiece: Grosse Scherenkette, 2014 Steel, copper, Japanese urushi lacquer with cinnabar
The Stedelijk Museum’s-Hertogenbosch
De Mortel 4
5211 HV - ‘s-Hertogenbosch
NETHERLANDS
073 6273680
info@sm-s.nl