Allzeit bereit !

Artist list

David Bielander

In the same measure Swiss banks are pillars of reliability, the artists from this country are unpredictable; and should there be criticism on the financial institutions just mentioned, the craftmanship of the Swiss jewellers is beyond any doubt. For nearly a century Meret Oppenheim, Bernhard Schobinger, Otto Künzli, Pierre Degen en Christoph Zellweger have been producing radically innovative work, which has made collegues and collectors hold their breath.

David Bielander fits perfectely in this company. He is freedom personified, while maintaining a keen eye for the aims of his profession and a dedication to his qualities as an goldsmith. He feels that jewellery must give joy and should be a pleasure to wear. As an artist he does not need to fall back on coquetry , because the wittyness of his work springs from the contradictions between the things you see and the facts you know. The images he presents, like animals, fruits or faces, are immidiately recognisable, and they remain so, even when you perceive that they are made from such unlikely materials as crown-corks, shells and rubber gloves.

In keeping with the motto of the exhibition ‘Allzeit bereit’ (‘always ready’), David Bielander is looking at the world with an open mind, prepared to reconsider the familiar and to investigate every new perspective. In the exhibition of his new work at Galerie Louise Smit in Amsterdam, the visitor can join him in these refreshing explorations and will be surprised and enchanted.

Ward Schrijver