Geometric Territories: Helfried Kodré Jewels and Sculptures
Exhibition
/
03 Oct 2018
-
31 Oct 2018
Published: 12.07.2018
Hannah Gallery
- Mail:
- hannahgallery
klimt02.net
- Phone:
- + 34 933687235
- Management:
- Amador Bertomeu, Leo Caballero
Brooch
SOLD
Hannah Gallery presents Geometric Territories: Helfried Kodré Jewels and Sculptures, a curated selection of jewels and sculptures from 2009 to 2018.
My works do not transport any kind of message; they stand alone, for themselves, and communicate nothing apart from their appearance and workmanship. Thus everyone can find a free, self-determined access to them, one that is not steered by specific conventions into a defined direction.
/ Helfied Kodré
Artist list
Helfried Kodré
Transformations: jewels & sculptures by Helfried Kodré.
Helfried Kodré, though born in Graz, Austria, is central to Vienna’s history of modern and contemporary culture. Preceded by major figures like Freud, Klimt, Hoffmann, and Mahler, among others, and joined since the revolution/evolution of studio jewelry beginning in the 1960s by Defner, Heindl, Leitner, Maierhofer, Mossetig, Skubic, and Symon, he is among those artists who were brought into the international public forum by the activities of Barbara Cartlidge’s Electrum Gallery in London (where Kodré exhibited in 1973), and Inge Asenbaum’s Galerie am Graben in Vienna in 1972. Earlier, Kodré was a participant in Jablonec ’68, the first symposium of jewelry artists from the West and East held in Prague. During this time, he collaborated in the atelier of Elisabeth Kodré Defner, with whom he had a professional as well as a personal relationship. His work during those years (1962-1975) revealed an interest in elaborate design influenced by nature and Elisabeth, thus the inclusion of rubies, diamonds, and turquoise to enhance the pieces’ ornamental appearance.
A work from this period was documented in IngeAsenbaum’s collection “Alles Schmuck” exhibited in the Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, in 2000 - revealing an unknown Kodré to me. By chance in January 2015, following the opening of the Bollman collection at MAK, Vienna, an entourage made a midnight visit with Helfried to Elizabeth’s studio, where she opened her safe and brought forth earlier works conceived by Helfried and recently received from one of his private collectors . . . a forgotten history and a confirmed revelation of his past. This moment was preceded by a visit to Helfried’s domain, which was not unlike his current work: precise and uncluttered, demonstrating a respect for clarity and design. Kodré’s sculpture and jewelry were placed with great consideration of their form within his personal environment.
•
How did Helfried Kodré travel from rich, highly ornamental works to geometric concerns? After ending his collaborative life with Elisabeth in 1975, he interrupted his studio work to earn aPhD in art history at the University of Vienna, where he taught for eleven years. In 1992, he returned to his studio as an artist. Kodré’s conviction was to study geometry and understand and realize forms that appear simple but lead to complex designs in which he could combine line, space, and color in his work.
His sculpture and jewelry -like the best in modern design- reduce these concepts to their essence. Folded layers of silver reveal fan shapes. Tall silver sentries with geometric gold forms interrupt straight lines. Complex linear lines entangle with each other and are sometimes accented with a turquoise cube. Flat squares of gold, silver, and steel with occasional textured surfaces are folded with great care, expanding the concept of a brooch. He also brings us into new territories with the design of a square ring shank balancing split squares or holding a set topaz like a sentinel guarding a fortress. Precision is central to his work. Kodré has stated that “geometry is my artistic media to transport (or visualize) tension and emotions.”
Helfried Kodré created and transported a unique body of jewelry, transforming our initial concepts of brooches, earrings, and rings. Through his art, he reinforces the continuation of the legacy of Vienna as his innovative worksreveal unanticipated geometric forms.
/ Helen W. Drutt English, July 1, 2018
Helfried Kodré, though born in Graz, Austria, is central to Vienna’s history of modern and contemporary culture. Preceded by major figures like Freud, Klimt, Hoffmann, and Mahler, among others, and joined since the revolution/evolution of studio jewelry beginning in the 1960s by Defner, Heindl, Leitner, Maierhofer, Mossetig, Skubic, and Symon, he is among those artists who were brought into the international public forum by the activities of Barbara Cartlidge’s Electrum Gallery in London (where Kodré exhibited in 1973), and Inge Asenbaum’s Galerie am Graben in Vienna in 1972. Earlier, Kodré was a participant in Jablonec ’68, the first symposium of jewelry artists from the West and East held in Prague. During this time, he collaborated in the atelier of Elisabeth Kodré Defner, with whom he had a professional as well as a personal relationship. His work during those years (1962-1975) revealed an interest in elaborate design influenced by nature and Elisabeth, thus the inclusion of rubies, diamonds, and turquoise to enhance the pieces’ ornamental appearance.
A work from this period was documented in IngeAsenbaum’s collection “Alles Schmuck” exhibited in the Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, in 2000 - revealing an unknown Kodré to me. By chance in January 2015, following the opening of the Bollman collection at MAK, Vienna, an entourage made a midnight visit with Helfried to Elizabeth’s studio, where she opened her safe and brought forth earlier works conceived by Helfried and recently received from one of his private collectors . . . a forgotten history and a confirmed revelation of his past. This moment was preceded by a visit to Helfried’s domain, which was not unlike his current work: precise and uncluttered, demonstrating a respect for clarity and design. Kodré’s sculpture and jewelry were placed with great consideration of their form within his personal environment.
•
How did Helfried Kodré travel from rich, highly ornamental works to geometric concerns? After ending his collaborative life with Elisabeth in 1975, he interrupted his studio work to earn aPhD in art history at the University of Vienna, where he taught for eleven years. In 1992, he returned to his studio as an artist. Kodré’s conviction was to study geometry and understand and realize forms that appear simple but lead to complex designs in which he could combine line, space, and color in his work.
His sculpture and jewelry -like the best in modern design- reduce these concepts to their essence. Folded layers of silver reveal fan shapes. Tall silver sentries with geometric gold forms interrupt straight lines. Complex linear lines entangle with each other and are sometimes accented with a turquoise cube. Flat squares of gold, silver, and steel with occasional textured surfaces are folded with great care, expanding the concept of a brooch. He also brings us into new territories with the design of a square ring shank balancing split squares or holding a set topaz like a sentinel guarding a fortress. Precision is central to his work. Kodré has stated that “geometry is my artistic media to transport (or visualize) tension and emotions.”
Helfried Kodré created and transported a unique body of jewelry, transforming our initial concepts of brooches, earrings, and rings. Through his art, he reinforces the continuation of the legacy of Vienna as his innovative worksreveal unanticipated geometric forms.
/ Helen W. Drutt English, July 1, 2018
Hannah Gallery
- Mail:
- hannahgalleryklimt02.net
- Phone:
- + 34 933687235
- Management:
- Amador Bertomeu, Leo Caballero
newsletter
Get the latest information about the international Jewellery Scene sent directly to your mailbox every week. View previous issues
-
Materia prima, design as transformation
15May2027 - 27Feb2028
Pforzheim Jewellery Museum
Pforzheim, Germany -
The Void as an Affinity
25Nov2026 - 29Nov2026
Hannah Gallery
Barcelona, Spain -
Feathers, Frost and Fantastic Creatures
25Nov2026 - 30Dec2026
Galerie Handwerk
Munich, Germany -
Slow Matter
18Nov2026 - 22Nov2026
Fou Gallery NY
New York, United States -
Laboratorium with Kim Buck
13Nov2026 - 09May2027
Design Museum Danmark
Copenhagen, Denmark -
WeerWerk by Ria Lins and Els Vansteelandt
12Nov2026 - 14Nov2026
Els Vansteelandt Contemporary Jewellery & objets d'art
Brussels, Belgium -
Preziosa Young 2026 in Asolo
07Nov2026 - 29Nov2026
Thereza Pedrosa Gallery
Asolo, Italy -
Arnoldsche Weekend Art Gallery #19
06Nov2026 - 08Nov2026
Galerie AK2
Stuttgart, Germany -
Delicate Creatures by Märta Mattsson and Sona Kobanova
06Nov2026 - 06Dec2026
Atelier Martina Dempf in der Remise
Berlin, Germany -
Craft Now!
01Nov2026 - 11Apr2027
CODA Museum
Apeldoorn, Netherlands -
On Friday by Vivi Touloumidi
01Nov2026 - 11Apr2027
Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst
Hanau, Germany -
Butterfly Effects in Stockholm by Johanna Törnqvist
29Oct2026 - 21Nov2026
Handarbetets Vänner / HV Gallery
Stockholm, Sweden -
Creating Japanese Jewellery: Personal Expression and Memory
24Oct2026 - 17Jan2027
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK)
Kyoto, Japan -
The Art of Citation. An Exhibition at Solidor Art Space
24Oct2026 - 31Jan2027
Museum of Contemporary Jewellery. Solidor Art Space
Cagnes sur Mer, France -
A Brief History of Contemporary Jewelry. An Exhibition at Solidor Art Space
24Oct2026 - 31Jan2027
Museum of Contemporary Jewellery. Solidor Art Space
Cagnes sur Mer, France
