Winners of the Herbert Hofmann Prize 2025

The Winners of the Herbert Hofmann Prize 2025:
 

• Nikita Kavryzhkin, Russia

The Russian artist lives in Idar-Oberstein, one of the centres for gemstone design. His brooch ‘Sheep in a Box’ is reminiscent of the story of the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who sees the world through the eyes of a child. His work, cut from cachalong stone, is an invitation to see what is hidden. The white box, which is worn on the jacket lapel, can be filled by each wearer and also by the viewer according to their own ideas. Such personal secrets are precious. The brooch is also a reminder that we should never allow our freedom of thought to be restricted or taken away.
 

• Jounghye Park, Korea

In her work, the artist takes a critical look at the issue of the mass use of clothing, industrial production and environmental destruction. Jounghye Park works with waste, giving it value through her dedicated layering and landscape-like modelling and its use as a brooch. With her work, the artist shows that value can be created from waste through creativity and craftsmanship. In her narrative work, she exhorts us to save ourselves in the search for beauty.
 

• Eija Mustonen, Finland

 The Finnish artist loves the grand gesture. The copper elements are joined together to form a chain that acts like a protective charm. She combines the idea of an amulet with the physical size of the individual plates. Using a hammer and anvil, she moulds the copper elements three-dimensionally. The signal red is created in a chemical dyeing process and radiates an inviting warmth in the chosen colour. The wearer's movement is accompanied by the metallic sound and emphasises the striking appearance.


This year's jury was formed by:

• Dr Markus Eder, Danner Foundation.
• Cristina Filipe, Lisbon.
• Stéphane Galerneau, Ateliers d'Art de France, Paris.
• Malte Guttek, Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau.
• Lenka Laurynova, Muzeum Çeského ráje v Turnovė, Tunrov.

The special show is sponsored by the Danner Foundation. The Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy supports the special show financially. The prize is named after the art historian Herbert Hofmann, who initiated the first international jewellery show at the Internationale Handwerksmesse in 1959.