I Am Jailed in Jewellery. Peter Skubic

Artist list

Peter Skubic

Skubic thus formulated the discursive capacity of jewellery and placed it on an equal footing with other art genres. Time and again, he endeavoured to explore its peculiarities. Not only jewellery itself, but also in performative actions or film works. The media through which Peter Skubic researches and expresses himself are diverse. He left his mark on jewellery in particular. Early on, Skubic explored the question of how jewellery can work as an object in space without a compelling reference to the body. An idea that reflected his expanded view of jewellery, which is not just about decoration. His work can therefore be understood and described from a sculptural point of view in particular, in which references to space and people are inherent. The slightly ironic statement; I am jailed in jewellery illustrates Skubic’s existential attachment to thinking about jewellery.
 
Quote from Malte Guttek, Director of the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau: The 90th birthday of jewellery maker Peter Skubic is the occasion for this exhibition, which is dedicated to his work and cosmos. His works not only reflect his thinking about jewellery. They bear witness to the experimental spirit of his generation, characterised by new beginnings. The Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst e.V. awarded him the Golden Ring of Honour, which is why we have a special bond with him here in Hanau.
 
Peter Skubic’s favourite material was stainless steel, although he also integrated prefabricated elements into his work. Many of his works are characterised by the fact that their assembled constructions are held in shape by struts and braces. They are rhythmic architectures, both jewellery and sculpture at the same time. It is often only possible to determine which category they belong to by looking at the brooch fittings. An example of this is a brooch from 1993 (see image): A tower-like structure rises from an almost square ground plan, the top of which rests on struts. The interlocking elements are only held together by a wire cable, which holds the entire work in place. The construction of the “Golden Ring of Honour”, which Skubic made as an award for Tone Vigeland, is similar. Here, however, the individual elements are reflective stainless steel plates that create impressive effects with coloured sections. Its shape is reminiscent of an eagle. An extended insight into his work is provided by objects that maintain their equilibrium thanks to a well-balanced structure. Collages of found objects, such as feathers, stones and glass fragments, testify to his playful approach with his sculptural interests and the tectonic combination of elements.

Peter Skubic is not only one of the most important jewellery makers of his generation. He has a special connection to the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst e.V., which is responsible for the management of the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau. He was awarded the Golden Ring of Honour in 2005. This was an award given to artists to recognise outstanding creative achievements. What makes this award unusual: The new award winners were selected by the community of previous ring bearers. A new ring was always designed and made by the person who last received the award. In testimony to this tradition, Peter Skubic made the Golden Ring of Honour for the jewellery maker Tone Vigeland, who died last year. After her death, this Ring of Honour returned to Hanau and is represented in the exhibition.


Biography
Peter Skubic was born in Gornji Milanovac, formerly Yugoslavia, in 1935. From 1952 to 1954, he attended the Technical College for Metal Arts and Crafts in Steyr, Austria. He then studied in the class of Professor Eugen Mayer at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna until 1958.
He passed the master craftsman’s examination for goldsmiths and silversmiths in 1966. He was appointed Professor of Jewellery Design at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences in 1979. He was a visiting professor for jewellery design at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle in 2002 and 2003. He died in Gamischdorf in the Austrian province of Burgenland in 2024, where he had lived and worked for many years.
 
He received numerous prizes and awards for his work, including the Golden Medal of Honour from the Austrian Society of Fine Artists in 1976, the Cultural Prize from the City of Vienna in 1978, the Golden Ring of Honour from the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst in 2005 and the Bavarian State Prize at the International Crafts Fair in Munich in 2008. His works can be found in numerous international collections. The loans for the exhibition “I Am Jailed in Jewellery. Peter Skubic” come from the Pforzheim Jewellery Museum, the Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum in Munich and private collections.

Guided tours through the exhibition (in german):
Sunday guided tour: 19 October 2025 at 3 pm.
Public guided tour from a curatorial perspective: 16 November 2025 at 3 pm.
Sunday guided tour: 14 December 2025 at 3 pm.