Herbert Hofmann Prize 2014

Jewellery you cannot overlook

Many call it the Oscars of the jewellery scene: the Herbert-Hofmann-Prize. This renowned award was presented in March at the «Handwerk & Design» as part of the Internationale Handwerksmesse in Munich (12.-18. March 2014). Every year, the best pieces that are exhibited at the international special exhibition SCHMUCK are honoured with the Herbert-Hofmann-Prize.

Munich, March 2014 – They play with the themes portrait, face, and mask. They are “fascinating examples of characters that are admirably crafted.” This is how the jury describes the brooches from the series “Portraits”. The jewellery designer Noon Passama, born in Thailand and living in the Netherlands, was awarded the Herbert-Hofmann-Prize for this series. “You simply cannot overlook them”, the jury comments on the brooches, especially because “they look back confidently and strongly at the viewer”.

A composition of 34 brooches, which are richly detailed and made of silver, is the work that Iris Bodemer from Pforzheim exhibits at SCHMUCK 2014. Together they form a complete picture. However, every piece of jewellery can also be worn individually. In its statement, the jury writes that sketches are a crucial part in the design process of the jewellery of Iris Bodemer and that “concerning the exhibited relief, all energy of the sketches seems to have flowed into the material“.

Energy is also Akihiro Ikeyama‘s theme from Japan. The jury states that “the fabric of the kingdom of nature” captivates the artist; they awarded “Holey Holye Abnorm”, a brooch made of antlers and stainless steel. Ikeyama transforms especially the antlers of deer and stags into his typical jewellery shape, the jury explains. However, the design of the jewellery pieces clearly shows that not the material but Akihiro Ikeyama himself is the master.

In total, exhibits from 66 goldsmiths and jewellery designers from 25 countries had been selected for the special exhibition SCHMUCK 2014. This year‘s curator was the art historian, culture journalist and chairwoman of the Norwegian handicrafts Jorunn Veiteberg.

The jury for the Herbert Hofmann-Prize was made up of Warwick Freeman (jewellery designer, Auckland), Cornelie Holzach (Jewellery Museum Pforzheim), Thomas Raff (Danner-Stiftung, Munich), and Marjan Unger (art historian, Amsterdam).

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