LijnRecht. Jewellery objects by Cees Post

Artist list

Cees Post

To me, a square is both an anchor and a challenge in my search for beauty. The square is my mental frame.
/ Cees Post

A frugally furnished and tidy studio where all the materials and tools are neatly arranged, a coloured label stuck on each pair of cutters so that the artist will always reach for the right one. Bright daylight enters the studio through the dormer window, falling in straight lines on the gas burner and silver. In Cees Post’s jewellery, austere lines and simplicity of composition are the key elements. The optical effects of his line patterns, executed in light and dark, result in exciting reflections and frames in which magical black windows continuously appear. He calls his works ‘jewellery objects’. They are small autonomous visual artworks, both when worn and when exhibited in a display case. 2022 marks Post’s 60th year as a goldsmith and 40th year as a professional jewellery maker. CODA Museum exhibits his work from 13 March to 12 June 2022 in the exhibition LijnRecht – sieraadobjecten van Cees Post. A series of new brooches that focusses on the shifted image is included in the exhibition.

Cees Post (1942) has been fascinated with architectural shapes, straight lines and squares since childhood: “At one point I wondered ‘When I enter a room, what is the first thing I notice?’ First, I see the graphic elements – the straight lines of floor tiles and heating radiators – not the organic, round shapes. But I don’t make constructivist, minimalist or optical work. I make works that I find interesting. And what interests me are small artworks with lines. What label applies to them does not really interest me.”

Post’s work exudes peace and harmony but, even after years of experience, the creational process often involves a struggle with the material. After all, silver does not allow itself to be moulded into austere shapes that easily. This requires artisanal skill and great expertise. By using the specific qualities of silver (oxidised, polished or matte), Post creates interesting graphic effects. These effects really come into their own when the objects are worn and moving, but even when they are exhibited in a display case, the effect can be perceived by observing them from different angles.

Post’s brooches are executed with great precision, and although he does not set to work with a fully formed plan, he always maintains complete control over the line patterns. He does not allow himself to be tempted by coincidental discoveries made during the creational process. He strives for perfection in the straight line and on the flat surface. Silver is his material of choice, but he will apply matte yellow gold accents where necessary. By blackening (oxidising) certain elements, he intensifies the difference between the light and dark elements.

In recent years, Cees Post has taken the square as the basis of most of his work, and from 2011 a new series brooch objects evolved. In these works, the image seems to have shifted, and for the first time lines and surfaces within the square-shaped frames seem to move. As if they were exiting the frame. In 2000, Cees Post designed and crafted the Wilhelminaring, an oeuvre prize for sculpture. In 2012, CODA exhibited his work in the exhibition Zilver en Goud – sieraden van Anneke Schat en Cees Post.

The publication Kenmerkend – Cees Post that accompanies the exhibition is for sale at CODA Winkel (€ 10,-).

About Cees Post
Cees Post (Zierikzee, 1942), initially as an artist self-taught, attended the Vakschool for gold and silversmiths in Schoonhoven and went on to study at the Vrije Academie in The Hague. Post’s jewellery is highly two-dimensional and restrained. Clean, angular lines and great simplicity in terms of composition characterise his works best. Post: “The objects must be taut, otherwise you should not be making geometric work.” He has always had a fascination with the basic architectural shapes: particularly the square, but also the rectangle and triangle. Not surprisingly, his work is very popular among architects. His brooches (‘wearable objects’) and rings (‘ring objects’) are constructed from line patterns of light and dark that are repeated in reflected form. 2022 marks Cees Post’s 60th year as a goldsmith and 40th year as a professional jewellery maker.