Karin van Paassen
Jeweller
Published: 08.01.2026
upcmail.nlBio
I am a driven individual who organized dozens of cultural projects as a curator. I have a broad interest in art, design, fashion and of course people behind their works. I like complicated challenges. I love to design and make jewellery and body-related objects, always made of black porcelain. I often combine porcelain with horsehair. I am always aware of the influence of art and design from Asian and African cultures in my jewellery. Unconsciously, elements can always be traced back to this. A common thread in my work is my injured back.Statement
I had a lifelong passion for jewellery. I am an avid collector of ethnic jewellery. Most of which I discovered during my extensive travels.I am fascinated by the significance of jewellery in different cultures, the surprising use of unconventional materials, the lavishly opulent decorations, and the power, which is often attributed to jewellery. I am fascinated by amulets and talisman.
As a curator, I organised many projects and exhibitions integrating ethnic jewellery collections, combined with contemporary jewellery.
I have been a curator and cultural entrepreneur since 1979. I have organised numerous exhibitions, lectures, fairs, shows, art trails etc. for cultural organisations and museums in the Netherlands and abroad. I developed concepts and executes projects in the areas of design and fashion and jewellery. I am particularly drawn towards projects with requiring an interdisciplinary approach. I have undertaken workshops and given lectures at Technical Schools and Universities in the Netherlands and abroad. I was also a member of various Boards and Commissions. Together with a colleague I founded Blendix Design, meant for Dutch / Chinese design projects in China and in the Netherlands. We organized projects in China.
I found out that I could find everything I needed in the Chinese porcelain city Jingdezhen. Porcelain gives me the opportunity to tell stories. Sometimes the story arises while I work with the clay. With porcelain, I can create any form I like. I make wearable jewellery and more and more monumental works. Every jewel is unique. Of course, the jewellery in a collection is strongly related to each other, but still, they are unique. I exhibited my jewellery in the Netherlands, China, France, Italy, etc.
> Digital book MyJewel (in Dutch).
I compiled this booklet during the coronavirus pandemic. I asked 100 people I knew to send me a photo of their favourite piece of jewellery, along with a story about it. The result is a beautiful and moving collection of jewellery and the stories. I had it printed for all the participants.
All texts, except for the foreword, are in Dutch. Since everyone has a translation app these days, I don't think that won’t be a problem for those who are interested.
> OriGiN: Catalogue of Karin van Paassen's Porcelain jewellery
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