What We Share: On Horizontal Communities at the Puyuan International Contemporary Jewellery Art and Design Biennial

中文版 - Chinese version      

Artist list

Alexey Aghabeygi, Nadine Anklam, Miriam Arentz, Nicole Beck, Marcus Biesecke, Alexander Blank, Patrícia Domingues, Benedikt Fischer, Susie Heuberger, Anna Hüfner, Franz Kirsch, Marten Kueß, Sarah May, Florian Milker, Catharina Mohr, Tim Neumann, Sarah Schuschkleb, Danni Schwaag, Jonas Schwalenberg, Juliane Schölß, Christoph Straube, Edu Tarin, Leo Wagner, Julia Walter, Florian Weichsberger, Christoph Weisshaar, Marleen Wysocki

What connects these works is not only the artistic field they emerge from, but also a sense of spatial and temporal proximity. This is a curatorial decision: to reflect on how artists working within a shared cultural and institutional framework create individually, and yet in relation — across time, material, and discourse.

Rather than presenting a chronological overview or a dichotomy between “established” and “emerging,” this exhibition proposes a networked reading: How do generational voices overlap, challenge or echo each other?
Which material strategies, aesthetic ideas, narratives and social commentaries persist or shift over time?


In the background of this curatorial concept stands the network theory of Bruno Latour and his idea of symmetrical anthropology: a way of thinking that considers humans, objects, materials, and contexts as equally important agents in a network of meaning. Here, jewellery is not merely ornamental or symbolic. It acts — as matter, as statement, as cultural intervention.

The selected works reflect this expanded understanding. Materials are questioned, repurposed, and recontextualized. Traditional craftspeopleship meets conceptual urgency. Themes range from ecological fragility to body politics, from pop culture to material narratives, and to digital mediation. The graduating class of 2025 demonstrates a pronounced sensitivity to current social issues. All artists are working in subtle, materially intelligent ways that foreground the agency of objects.
As curator, I bring my own embeddedness into the exhibition space. Many of the participants are colleagues, collaborators, or fellow researchers from shared platforms and exhibition contexts. This proximity does not compromise curatorial distance; rather, it allows for a more nuanced, situated curating — from within the field rather than from its margins.

What We Share: On Horizontal Communities is not only the title of this exhibition, but also its curatorial approach: a way of attending to what becomes visible in relation — across time, material, and artistic positions.

The exhibition space becomes a dense node of ideas, gestures, and materials — a temporary constellation that mirrors the shifting discourse in contemporary jewellery and object art. Rather than offering a fixed cartography, it opens a moment of resonance: between generations, between material and meaning, between artist and viewer.

In this shared space, we are invited to listen closely — to the quiet shifts, the recurring echoes, and the emerging voices that shape the present and future of the field. What We Share is a question and a proposition at once: a reflection on common ground, and a commitment to horizontal ways of thinking, making, and being with one another.


Curator: Melanie Isverding
Curatorial Assistant: Mara-Laurin Lübke



Executive Comittee: 
Biennale President: Chen Xianghong
Supervising Producer: Chen Yu
Chief Curator: Chen Youtong
Executive Producer: Yao Jie
Academic Director: Sun Jie
Art Director: Cao Xingyun
Project Director: Shi Chong, Liu Yunling, Shi Qi

Host Organization: 
Puyuan Fashion Resort

Organization Institutes: 
- Dingdu Cultural Foundation
- JCC International Contemporary Center
- TRIPLE PARADE


About Puyuan Fashion Resort

Puyuan Fashion Resort is the “twin ancient town” to Wuzhen, created by the same visionary planning and design team. While Wuzhen celebrates culture, Puyuan embraces fashion. The two sit side by side, complementing each other in theme, sharing resources yet thriving independently.

As China’s largest wool sweater market and knitwear hub, Puyuan Fashion Resort redefines fashion beyond clothing, curating a lifestyle of quality and aesthetics. It is designed as a dynamic ecosystem where design, showcase, trade, retail, and experience come together—making it not only a fashion industry cluster but also a high-end travel destination.

Drawing from the waterways and landscapes of Jiangnan, the town blends Tang and Song architectural influences with an imposing grandeur that sets it apart from traditional ancient towns. True to its identity as “China’s Fashion Ancient Town,” Puyuan is constantly innovating and breaking boundaries.

Since its grand opening in 2023, Puyuan Fashion Resort has become a stage for trend-setting events: the Douyin Creators Conference, GQ Men of the Year Gala, Puyuan Fashion Week, Figaro Music Party, Asia Wedding Style 2024, and the China showcase of New York Fashion Week · New Discoveries. It has also been featured in hit shows such as Everybody Stand By, Go Fighting!, Cats in the Box, and The Legend of Shen Li.

With every collaboration and cultural crossover, Puyuan Fashion Resort is accelerating its growth, proving itself as a bold fusion of tradition and fashion—and a new landmark on the global style map.