About duo exhibitions: Eva Burton & Tabea Reulecke interviewed by Klimt02
Published: 19.11.2017

When Eva Burton and Tabea Reulecke met during their masters’ studies in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, it was friendship at first sight with their love for South America instantly giving them common ground.
It’s no wonder that when the two artists organized the group exhibition “Into The Woods” in 2015, they chose Buenos Aires as the place for the event. The interdisciplinary project showed artworks of 11 artists from seven nationalities. For “It’s Piñata Time!” Eva and Tabea team up again for their first duo exhibition project in Gallery Amaranto, Barcelona. Both have presented their latest artworks, and once again, their love for Latin America’s culture, traditions, and inhabitants was omnipresent.
You know each other from your studies in Idar-Oberstein and the love for the prehispanic culture brought you together. How do you think about the possibility to exhibit with a Friend?
The advantages of collaborating with a friend are that you can work together with double energies. Each one of us has its own special qualities and powers, but as well lack strengths. And yes, most of them we know ;) We discussed responsibilities and each of us was able to do the things we enjoyed the most. Things which were kind of boring for both of us we did together. This way you didn’t need to get grumpy alone, instead be satisfied together when the impossible worked out.
Where do you see difficulties?
Difficulties appear if someone is not reliable and doesn’t collaborate and in that case, it wouldn’t matter if you are friends or colleagues. A fluent communication is always very important as well as being clear about responsibilities.
In your case, both jewellery series work really well together in the relatively small exhibition place of Amaranto Joies. How did you select the work you wanted to show, and how was the process to develop the concept of this exhibition?
We were familiarized with the space from the beginning and we knew the pieces we wanted to present for this show. Using brain-storming as a method of bonding our ideas we collected keywords like playful, colorful, surprising, the mixture of experiences, merging of cultures. Then, we naturally came up with the title "It´s piñata time!", so we started to focus on presentation, graphics, and promotion within this atmosphere. Once in situ, we decided to follow the rainbow colors in each vitrine regarding our pieces. Everything happened spontaneously and it surprised us as well. Setting the exhibition was like two friends playing together in a sandpit!

Tabea Reulecke, Sculpture: Quiltro, 2016. Copper, enamel, silver, leather.
Is there anything you would like to change or improve if you two have the chance to make a duo-show again?
We did not only collaborate with each other, we also operated with jewellery maker and blogger of "Karma Chroma", Carina Shoshtari, who wrote a text about our Piñata. Photographer Qi Wang took pictures of our work and a graphic designer, Laura Jack made the layout for our poster. We are makers and we take our work seriously. To be professional also means to give out work to others who are experts in their own field. The advantage of it: the project becomes a whole and everything looks clear without excuses.
Where and when would be the ideal place and moment for you two?
We are open to hearing proposals, so feel free to contact us!

Eva Burton, Necklace: Huentli con rubipiruleta, 2017. Anodized aluminium, syntetic ruby, silver, patina.
Please tell us about your experiences with the JOYA. What makes the difference to other Jewellery weeks, and why did you decide to present your work during in this frame programme?
We got invited by Grego García Tebar from Amaranto Joies to exhibit during the fame of JOYA 2017.
Barcelona is a vibrant and charming city. Joya it’s a great excuse to come to visit, visit exhibitions and mingle with friends and colleagues. Because of the comparatively small amount of frame shows in relation to other Jewellery Weeks, we were able to see most of them.
Unfortunately, a negative experience was the JOYA catalog, which presented not only the artists of the fair, as well all OFF JOYA exhibitions. For promoting your show, you had to pay 300 € ! Which is way much more than the fee from other organizers in other jewellery events. We think that the organization of JOYA should see this event as an opportunity to support and promote contemporary jewellery in Barcelona, not only as a rentable business. This catalog wasn’t available for visitors or even the artists until the fair opened which was after all the other shows had their openings which were supposed to be promoted in this catalog! This was as ridiculous as it sounds and then, a waste of time and money. The opening times of the International Fair with 2 hours lunch break seems a bit too much: many visitors were standing in front of closed gates.
What other exhibition did you appreciate the most in the off JOYA programme? And why?
We were really amazed by the couple show of Greek artists Anthoula Pilyviou and Niki Stylianou. Their pieces, so delicate and sensual were perfectly framed in the exotic atmosphere of El Lavadero. "The Alchemical Egg", at Hannah Gallery, a superb selection of curator Nichka Emme was a great example of how a title can be interpreted in so many different ways and still show coherence when all the pieces are together. The solo exhibition of Carmen Amador at Siesta Gallery was really nice to see. The work of Carmen is poetic and subtle, those little bodegones where also enhanced in the wooden vitrines from this magical spot of Raval neighborhood.
You know each other from your studies in Idar-Oberstein and the love for the prehispanic culture brought you together. How do you think about the possibility to exhibit with a Friend?
The advantages of collaborating with a friend are that you can work together with double energies. Each one of us has its own special qualities and powers, but as well lack strengths. And yes, most of them we know ;) We discussed responsibilities and each of us was able to do the things we enjoyed the most. Things which were kind of boring for both of us we did together. This way you didn’t need to get grumpy alone, instead be satisfied together when the impossible worked out.
Where do you see difficulties?
Difficulties appear if someone is not reliable and doesn’t collaborate and in that case, it wouldn’t matter if you are friends or colleagues. A fluent communication is always very important as well as being clear about responsibilities.
In your case, both jewellery series work really well together in the relatively small exhibition place of Amaranto Joies. How did you select the work you wanted to show, and how was the process to develop the concept of this exhibition?
We were familiarized with the space from the beginning and we knew the pieces we wanted to present for this show. Using brain-storming as a method of bonding our ideas we collected keywords like playful, colorful, surprising, the mixture of experiences, merging of cultures. Then, we naturally came up with the title "It´s piñata time!", so we started to focus on presentation, graphics, and promotion within this atmosphere. Once in situ, we decided to follow the rainbow colors in each vitrine regarding our pieces. Everything happened spontaneously and it surprised us as well. Setting the exhibition was like two friends playing together in a sandpit!

Tabea Reulecke, Sculpture: Quiltro, 2016. Copper, enamel, silver, leather.
Is there anything you would like to change or improve if you two have the chance to make a duo-show again?
We did not only collaborate with each other, we also operated with jewellery maker and blogger of "Karma Chroma", Carina Shoshtari, who wrote a text about our Piñata. Photographer Qi Wang took pictures of our work and a graphic designer, Laura Jack made the layout for our poster. We are makers and we take our work seriously. To be professional also means to give out work to others who are experts in their own field. The advantage of it: the project becomes a whole and everything looks clear without excuses.
Where and when would be the ideal place and moment for you two?
We are open to hearing proposals, so feel free to contact us!

Eva Burton, Necklace: Huentli con rubipiruleta, 2017. Anodized aluminium, syntetic ruby, silver, patina.
Please tell us about your experiences with the JOYA. What makes the difference to other Jewellery weeks, and why did you decide to present your work during in this frame programme?
We got invited by Grego García Tebar from Amaranto Joies to exhibit during the fame of JOYA 2017.
Barcelona is a vibrant and charming city. Joya it’s a great excuse to come to visit, visit exhibitions and mingle with friends and colleagues. Because of the comparatively small amount of frame shows in relation to other Jewellery Weeks, we were able to see most of them.
Unfortunately, a negative experience was the JOYA catalog, which presented not only the artists of the fair, as well all OFF JOYA exhibitions. For promoting your show, you had to pay 300 € ! Which is way much more than the fee from other organizers in other jewellery events. We think that the organization of JOYA should see this event as an opportunity to support and promote contemporary jewellery in Barcelona, not only as a rentable business. This catalog wasn’t available for visitors or even the artists until the fair opened which was after all the other shows had their openings which were supposed to be promoted in this catalog! This was as ridiculous as it sounds and then, a waste of time and money. The opening times of the International Fair with 2 hours lunch break seems a bit too much: many visitors were standing in front of closed gates.
What other exhibition did you appreciate the most in the off JOYA programme? And why?
We were really amazed by the couple show of Greek artists Anthoula Pilyviou and Niki Stylianou. Their pieces, so delicate and sensual were perfectly framed in the exotic atmosphere of El Lavadero. "The Alchemical Egg", at Hannah Gallery, a superb selection of curator Nichka Emme was a great example of how a title can be interpreted in so many different ways and still show coherence when all the pieces are together. The solo exhibition of Carmen Amador at Siesta Gallery was really nice to see. The work of Carmen is poetic and subtle, those little bodegones where also enhanced in the wooden vitrines from this magical spot of Raval neighborhood.
About the Interviewee
Eva Burton is a contemporary jewellery maker living and working in Germany. Born in Buenos Aires, she started exploring the world at an early age. Her fascination for ancient pre-hispanic cultures leads her to Mexico where she started making jewellery. She is always seeking for new ways of expression and playing is a fundamental aspect of her life and in her artistic creations.Tabea Reulecke completed a Diploma in Gem and Jewellery design, Idar-Oberstein, 2006. Since 2007 she has been an assistant at Idar-Oberstein. She has lectured and held workshops in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Tabea has held numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. In July 2015 Tabea Reulecke graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Department of Gemstone and Jewellery at the University of Trier. Her graduation project took physical shape in August 2015, during the International Summer Academy 2015 at the Campus Idar-Oberstein. Since then the Summer Academy established and takes place every year. In 2017, Tabea was City Goldsmith of Hanau and teaches at Pforzheim Jewellery School.
About the author


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