Jury Prize at the Biennale De Mains de Maîtres awarded to Claude Schmitz

Claude Schmitz was born in 1972 in Luxembourg where he lives and works. Jeweller, Claude holds an MA in Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery from the Royal College of London before following at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from Antwerp from 1995 to 1999.
Genuine virtuoso, he draws and achieves pieces of fluent lines and refined design that seem always balanced at the limit of the breach. A feeling of virility probably linked to technical exploits, nicely frustrated by the delicacy of the drawing and composition of the gemstones.
A feeling of illusion also when by magic the ties of gold and silver interweave in his signature ring “Rolling Ring”. Each piece seems to tell a story, to draw a character, a flower, an insect ready to fly away to offer grace and poetry.


About the Biennial:
The Luxembourgish Biennial ‘De Mains de Maîtres’ aims to offer the widest representation of what constitutes crafts today, a universe at the crossroads of contemporary art and craftsmanship, which draws its vitality and modernity from the transmission of the gesture and the perpetual search for innovation.
Following the unprecedented success of the first exhibition "De Mains De Maîtres" in December 2016, TRH Prince Guillaume and Princess Stephanie decided to continue their action in favour of the artisans and creators of art of Luxembourg. Therefore the exceptional event "De Mains de Maîtres" became the Biennial "De Mains De Maîtres".

To elicit exciting works and to spread internationally the spirit of ‘De Mains de Maîtres’, Jean-Marc Dimanche, curator of the exhibition, has chosen for the 2018 edition the theme ‘Gestures and Wonders’ in order to see the birth of new and amazing creations.