108 by Herman Sun
Exhibition
/
04 Oct 2020
-
11 Oct 2020
Published: 01.10.2020
Set: Qiu Niu, 2019
925 silver.
15 x 12.5 x 3.2 cm
Photo by: Daniel Riley
From series: Dragon Myth
Detail view, an object on the body.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

The number “108” is easily associated with “hero” for the Chinese people, while the word “hero” coincides with both Herman’s works and the strong aura that he radiates. Every piece of Herman’s work is like a “weapon” he forged, and every “weapon” is just like himself, always maintaining an “excessive” combat state. They look weird and unruly, but hold a concealed mystery at the same time. The 108 pieces of “weapon” are sealed in the specific object “jewelry”. When you approach it and “stare at” it, you will suddenly feel that it may rush out from this space at any time.
Artist list
Herman Sun
The upcoming The Small Jewelry Exhibition will bring you the jewelry artist Herman.
In the jewelry circle, Herman should not a familiar name to many of you. He has many titles and identities, and is engaging in many different types of jobs. Herman is a highly active jewelry art practitioner in China in the recent couple of years. Frankly speaking, the entire preparatory process for this exhibition was long and tortuous. When I decided to invite him to join our exhibition project, I had already realized that this might not be a “smooth” task, but still the reality was much more difficult than what I imagined.
A friend of mine once made a concern about this exhibition plan: “are there too many differences between Herman’s works and the previous styles of The Closer Gallery?” If The Small Jewelry Exhibition has any pursuit on the selection of exhibits, we only hope that the exhibition itself will be as “diversified” as possible. If this had not been achieved, we would continue doing our best to introduce artists and designers with different creative styles, as well as their research, pioneering and contemporary jewelry artworks in the future. Thus, Herman’s exhibition does not need to cater to or integrate into any particular style of The Small Jewelry Exhibition. What we want is actually to assist the artists to show the most unique appearance and value of their works.
In the past year, I had extensive communications with Herman on the topic of his exhibition content, not limited to face-to-face, telephone, voice calls or text messages, and regardless whether he’s awake or drunk. Although we are all practitioners of jewelry art to a certain extent, we seem not in the same “circle” as it is generally believed. If we use the word “circle” to divide the boundaries, obviously we have already labeled each other. However, before we have established communication, all the labels may be just “misunderstanding”. One of the missions of The Small Jewelry Exhibition is to resolve this “misunderstanding”, trying to break through barriers and build channels within the industry, so that we can understand those “unexpected” peers.
Standing in our respective positions, we have different definitions of “contemporary jewelry” and hold different views on the meaning and value conveyed by jewelry. Thus, our dialogue began with tentative questions, then developed to argument and debate, and finally reached some consensus out of our expectation. This consensus is not to compromise with each other, but to gradually understand each other’s intention. Herman said that our dialogue was like “Game Playing”. Whether it’s game playing or listening, I think it is still a breakthrough for both the artist and the gallery.
The presentation of the coming exhibition will be somewhat different from the past. Herman is a prolific artist. His recent new works have reached an astonishing number. It might be impossible to represent the overall appearance of his works at the current stage by only exhibiting one of his series. So after discussing, we decided to exhibit 6 series of his works, with a total of 108 pieces, which inspired the name of the exhibition: “108”. As a matter of fact, this is by far the largest number of solo works that have ever been exhibited in the history of The Closer Gallery.
The number “108” is easily associated with “hero” for the Chinese people, while the word “hero” coincides with both Herman’s works and the strong aura that he radiates. Every piece of Herman’s work is like a “weapon” he forged, and every “weapon” is just like himself, always maintaining an “excessive” combat state. They look weird and unruly, but hold a concealed mystery at the same time. The 108 pieces of “weapon” are sealed in the specific object “jewelry”. When you approach it and “stare at” it, you will suddenly feel that it may rush out from this space at any time.
Although Herman is proficient in expressing himself, he has no much interest to use words to explain the meaning and concepts behind his works. He believes that the contemporary nature of jewelry should not stop at conveying new ideas, but rather “empower” viewers through the medium of jewelry. The jewelry work itself has its own symbols and language. When a piece of work is completed, it should capture the ability to convey information to the viewers, and at the same time to communicate with the viewers.
You are welcome to visit The Closer Gallery and have a close communication with “108”.
The waves on the open sea are like heroes in the martial world.
/ Xiao Liang, The Closer Gallery
In the jewelry circle, Herman should not a familiar name to many of you. He has many titles and identities, and is engaging in many different types of jobs. Herman is a highly active jewelry art practitioner in China in the recent couple of years. Frankly speaking, the entire preparatory process for this exhibition was long and tortuous. When I decided to invite him to join our exhibition project, I had already realized that this might not be a “smooth” task, but still the reality was much more difficult than what I imagined.
A friend of mine once made a concern about this exhibition plan: “are there too many differences between Herman’s works and the previous styles of The Closer Gallery?” If The Small Jewelry Exhibition has any pursuit on the selection of exhibits, we only hope that the exhibition itself will be as “diversified” as possible. If this had not been achieved, we would continue doing our best to introduce artists and designers with different creative styles, as well as their research, pioneering and contemporary jewelry artworks in the future. Thus, Herman’s exhibition does not need to cater to or integrate into any particular style of The Small Jewelry Exhibition. What we want is actually to assist the artists to show the most unique appearance and value of their works.
In the past year, I had extensive communications with Herman on the topic of his exhibition content, not limited to face-to-face, telephone, voice calls or text messages, and regardless whether he’s awake or drunk. Although we are all practitioners of jewelry art to a certain extent, we seem not in the same “circle” as it is generally believed. If we use the word “circle” to divide the boundaries, obviously we have already labeled each other. However, before we have established communication, all the labels may be just “misunderstanding”. One of the missions of The Small Jewelry Exhibition is to resolve this “misunderstanding”, trying to break through barriers and build channels within the industry, so that we can understand those “unexpected” peers.
Standing in our respective positions, we have different definitions of “contemporary jewelry” and hold different views on the meaning and value conveyed by jewelry. Thus, our dialogue began with tentative questions, then developed to argument and debate, and finally reached some consensus out of our expectation. This consensus is not to compromise with each other, but to gradually understand each other’s intention. Herman said that our dialogue was like “Game Playing”. Whether it’s game playing or listening, I think it is still a breakthrough for both the artist and the gallery.
The presentation of the coming exhibition will be somewhat different from the past. Herman is a prolific artist. His recent new works have reached an astonishing number. It might be impossible to represent the overall appearance of his works at the current stage by only exhibiting one of his series. So after discussing, we decided to exhibit 6 series of his works, with a total of 108 pieces, which inspired the name of the exhibition: “108”. As a matter of fact, this is by far the largest number of solo works that have ever been exhibited in the history of The Closer Gallery.
The number “108” is easily associated with “hero” for the Chinese people, while the word “hero” coincides with both Herman’s works and the strong aura that he radiates. Every piece of Herman’s work is like a “weapon” he forged, and every “weapon” is just like himself, always maintaining an “excessive” combat state. They look weird and unruly, but hold a concealed mystery at the same time. The 108 pieces of “weapon” are sealed in the specific object “jewelry”. When you approach it and “stare at” it, you will suddenly feel that it may rush out from this space at any time.
Although Herman is proficient in expressing himself, he has no much interest to use words to explain the meaning and concepts behind his works. He believes that the contemporary nature of jewelry should not stop at conveying new ideas, but rather “empower” viewers through the medium of jewelry. The jewelry work itself has its own symbols and language. When a piece of work is completed, it should capture the ability to convey information to the viewers, and at the same time to communicate with the viewers.
You are welcome to visit The Closer Gallery and have a close communication with “108”.
The waves on the open sea are like heroes in the martial world.
/ Xiao Liang, The Closer Gallery
Pendant: Untitled, 2020
Silver plated with 18K gold.
From series: Dragon Shells
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Set: Chess, 2020
Silver, rock crystal quartz.
From series: BAIJIU
Wine set.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Set: Ceremony, 2020
Silver, rock crystal quartz, moonstone.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Set: Brew, 2020
Silver, rock crystal quartz, moonstone.
From series: BAIJIU
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Necklace: Maskwall, 2020
Silver.
From series: Maskwall
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Pendant: Beast, 2020
Silver plated with 18K gold.
From series: Dragon Myth 2
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Piece: Dragon, 2020
925 silver, agilawood, Indonesian pipe jade, moonstones, crystal, jade, aquamarine, alxa agates.
From series: Dragon
Pendants, box, brooches, rings, bracelet, spectacles, chains.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Piece: Fish, 2020
925 silver, aquamarine.
16 x 7 x 3 cm
From series: Dragon
Alternative view.
Spectacles
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Set: Qiu Niu, 2019
925 silver.
15 x 12.5 x 3.2 cm
Photo by: Daniel Riley
From series: Dragon Myth
Detail view, shirt clips.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Set: Jiao Tu, 2019
925 silver, ammonite, fine leather.
15.3 x 8.2 x 4.1 cm
Photo by: Daniel Riley
From series: Dragon Myth
Detail view, pendant.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Set: Jiao Tu, 2019
925 silver, ammonite, fine leather.
15.3 x 8.2 x 4.1 cm
Photo by: Daniel Riley
From series: Dragon Myth
The detail and back view of the pendant.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Piece: Pu Lao, 2019
925 silver, Russian agate.
14.2 x 19.8 x 11.3 cm
Photo by: Daniel Riley
From series: Dragon Myth
Detail view.
Bracelet, bells, brooch.
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
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