In FoCus by Sam Tho Duong

Artist list

Sam Tho Duong

His FROZEN work is more like Nature 2.0: Hundreds of small freshwater rice beads sway in soft waves, sprouting boldly from plump spheres. Yet the lively play of soft color nuances could not be more subtle. Sam Tho Duong's artful arrangement of the pearls conjures light and shadow, volume and depth.

In 2013, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, together with the Qatar Museum Authority Exhibition, organized an exhibition on beads, which included a necklace from Sam Tho Duong's FROZEN work. As if that were not enough, the image of the necklace not only adorned the many exhibition posters that hung in London, but also the cover of the book accompanying the exhibition. Those who are familiar with the work of Sam Tho Duong are not surprised by this, because his jewelry always has a high artistic standard.

A good example of Sam Tho Duong's creative work process are his disc rings: It all started with an avocado pit, which - cut into slices for research purposes - was to serve as inspiration for the next project work during his studies. The slices, however, kept splitting and falling apart as soon as they dried. Which challenged Sam Tho Duong a lot and made him look for a compound to hold the split slices together.

His solution is - as always - as simple as it is radical, and it also works for a round metal disk, which he cuts into four parts and connects to each other with an elastic plastic band. Thanks to the connection, the disc parts can be unfolded: a flat disc suddenly becomes a ring for the finger. The crowning glory of the work, however, is the version in 18-carat yellow gold with 41 brilliant-cut diamonds, which looks innocently like a classic jeweler's work and yet breaks with all conventions. As a disc, the perfect understatement; slipped on, a brilliant surprise that amazes even more on the finger.


In 2002 I met Sam Tho Duong. He had just completed his jewelry studies in Pforzheim, Germany, and we enthusiastically presented his cherry pit work at Friends of Carlotta. Five years later, I organized Sam Tho Duong's first solo exhibition at Friends of Carlotta: THE MAGIC OF GINGER. In over 50 stunning works, the ginger root unfolded its aroma not on the plate but adorned the lapel or budded on the neck. Today, Sam Tho Duong is one of the hottest artists of international jewelry art, delighting and inspiring people worldwide with his distinctive works. Despite his great success, he has remained the same. He is still characterized by the same curious desire to discover the inconspicuous. Even the most boring source material learns through his hand what is inside - a captivating object of desire.  
 
Sam Tho Duong feels magically attracted to things that we normally pay little attention to. Cautiously, with a lot of respect and a fine sense of humor, he explores the object of his interest. His curiosity is only satisfied when he has uncovered the innermost and the pieces are freed from their everyday context. It is a logical consequence for Sam Tho Duong to put them into a new context with an unbiased eye and to give them their decorative purpose: avocado slices suddenly turn into rings, cherry stones mutate into precious pearls, toilet paper or Actimel bottles into lush ruffs or richly decorated flower brooches.
Sam Tho Duong's jewelry pieces expand our perception of everyday things. They radiate the enchanting beauty of the unknown, yet seem so familiar, as if we've known them forever.
/ Bruna Hauert, May 2022


About Sam Tho Duong
Sam Tho Duong was born in 1969 in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, and came to Germany as a refugee at the age of 12 with his large family. After his training as a goldsmith, he worked as a goldsmith for five years. 1998 - 2002 he studied at the University of Design Pforzheim and graduated as a designer (FH). Since 2002, Sam Tho Duong has been a freelance designer and now belongs to the elite of international jewelry art. In 2015, he was named the 6th Hanau Goldsmith Award winner. His works have won numerous awards, are exhibited in the most prestigious galleries worldwide and are represented in many museums and collections (e.g. Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim, Victoria & Albert Museum in London or Museum of Arts & Design in New York).