Sam Kramer. Jeweler on the Edge in Munich

Artist list

Sam Kramer

As an artist whose declared aim was to make jewellery as expressive as painting and sculpture, Sam Kramer was a true original. As a figure of contemporary history in post-war America, he reflected both the existential angst and the quirky humour of the Beat Generation and embodied the iconoclastic spirit of his time. Ultimately he was an extremely adept entrepreneur. He succeeded in earning a substantial living from his business, and his publicity stunts were way ahead of their time. As early as 1955 - fourteen years before the first Moon landing - he had models in astronaut costumes ride scooters through New York distributing flyers for his gallery. Stylistically, his jewellery borders on the bizarre. His nightmarish creatures, which sometimes suggest embryonic monsters, as Kramer himself quipped, appear as though forged in a frenzy. He frequently furnished his heavy silver pendants, brooches, bracelets and rings with glass taxidermy eyes, bones, tusks, fossils, ancient East Indian coins or old buttons from underground-railway uniforms as well as rare semi-precious stones. At the same time, he was unusually sensitive to the demands of the material and advocated an understanding of the metal’s properties, a sense of its nature and an anticipation of its final form.

In Toni Greenbaum's new book Sam Kramer: Jeweler on the edge, she traces Kramer’s life and work with wit and charm - from the unique handling of his favoured material, silver, to curiosities such as the attempt to make jewellery from his wife’s gallstones. Pieces from renowned private and museum collections provide an unprecedented overview of Kramer’s work, while photos and documents from the family archive conjure up anew the spirit of the 1940s - 1960s.

Talk, Sale, Book presentation:
Join AJF and Arnoldsche Art Publishers for Psychoanalysis in Silver: The Fantastical Jewelry of Sam Kramer, a talk by author Toni Greenbaum, plus a sale and signing of her new book, Sam Kramer: Jeweler on the edge. Exhibition of selected studio jewelry pieces by Kramer will accompany the book presentation.
 

Hours

Hours: Thursday, March 12, 9:00 - 11:00 pm.
Doors open at 9:00 to enjoy coffee and pastries, and the talk will begin at 9:30.