Guirlandes

Artist list

Evert Nijland

In the summer sunlight the unwilling daisy stalks gradually gather to form a necklace, the child feels he is king of the castle. The king himself shares the sentiment but leads a different life: for him flower garlands are sculpted in marble and carved from wood. As a monarch you don't allow nature's whims and transience to spoil the festivities.
Throughout the ages flowers, fruit and leaves have been ordered in pleasing patterns and captured in architectural structures. Evert Nijland salutes artists who evolved the garland in centuries past, but in his own jewellery nature’s life force has overtaken the form. Unruly roots, wilful flowers and a plethora of entangled fruits command appreciation for themselves. A single reference to times past remains: he frequently designs his jewellery as 'parure', a single theme being elaborated upon to create a necklace with brooch, bracelet or earrings to match.
Evert Nijland does not merely escape the straitjacket of traditional patterns of decoration, he has also broken with his own earlier approach. Painting with embroidery techniques has made way for three-dimensional design: he no longer works on a linen surface, but rather develops elements and gathers them on a thread or band. The binding element he uses shapes the result. Mindful of nature, all components preserve a certain autonomy: their interaction plays a major role in his jewellery.
Using glass, fabric, ceramics and metal, Evert Nijland unites virtually all the applied arts. Constituent elements are joined with silk, linen, leather, elastic and steel. Glass is blown as well as freely modelled, occasionally etched, enamelled or flocked. Egg forms with ornaments imposed are moulded in ceramic, and he even goes so far as to dip flowers in porcelain and fire them in a kiln. The impression is of blossoms that have fluttered down from a plasterwork ceiling: a necklace in memory of summer afternoons and stately parties.

Ward Schrijver