Gerd Rothmann: I say jewelry, but I mean the creative process

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Gerd Rothmann

It is exactly 50 years since Gerd Rothmann (b. 1941 in Frankfurt/Main) began his training as a gold- and silversmith at the Staatliche Zeichenakademie in Hanau after an apprenticeship as a toolmaker. There followed a working sojourn in Lapland in 1964. He worked as an assistant in the studio of Hermann Jünger in 1966, and from 1968 on in his own workshop. Between 1981 and 1994, Rothmann had visiting professorships at the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung in Pforzheim, the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Vienna, the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, and the Royal College of Art in London.

In the 200-square-meter Silver Hall of the Goldsmiths’ House, where 120 pieces can be seen in 34 showcases, is a comprehensive exhibit including works from 1967 through the present. Concentrated in the center of the exhibition is a stringently chosen selection of jewelry pieces that all have to do with casts of various body parts. These are surrounded by showcases with works that document Gerd Rothmann’s development through the present. Large, colorful wall plaques with a collection of texts about his work provide the exhibition hall with its own framework.

Rothmann has become known for his unusual body casts in gold and silver which he converts into precious jewelry. He has analyzed the human body and experimented with it for more than 30 years. Today, Rothmann represents a severe interpretation of jewelry in accordance with its original roots. In his artistic onset, he emphasizes the close relationship to the wearer or owner. With this reference, he tries to bind the person and the object. The independence of the art-form is less important to Rothmann than the stories that are experienced with the jewelry. He says, “The jewelry medium does not exhaust itself in art, but rather in life, in its use.”

Generally, he creates the pieces individually for a particular person. Here, the sensual awareness of the skin textures or fingerprints cast in metal play a major role. The casts are a manifest, having the effect of a seal. They are comparable to a symbolic contract, a promise, or a silent pact. You sense a personal secret.

In 1990, Gerd Rothmann received the first prize of the Danner-Foundation, and in 1990, the Bavarian State Prize. Gerd Rothmann lives and works in Munich. His works are included in numerous international museums and private collections.