Manfred Bischoff

Bio

Born in 1947, Bischoff worked in Munich and Berlin before moving to Tuscany. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Françoise van den Bosch Prize, Amsterdam, the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, Munich, and a scholarship for study in Florence. For more than 20 years, Bischoff has created sculpture that can be found in collections around the world, including the Danner-Stiftung Collection, Munich, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Power House Museum, Sydney, and private collections throughout Europe and the United States. 

Statement

He is one of the most important and innovative jewelry artists of our time and one of the few who dare to tell stories with their pieces of jewelry. Manfred Bischoff spent a long time searching for the right materials to express his thoughts and feelings. By the end of the 1980s at the latest, when he was living in Italy, he had found his unmistakable design language: His materials - gold and coral as well as his very special way of presenting the pieces. Many of his works include a drawing on which words in a peculiar script play an important role and on which rings, brooches or earrings can find their place. The drawing gives the viewer several starting points from which to approach the work. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who concentrated on minimalist or conceptual jewelry art, Bischoff was inspired by classical art and literature. His works are often characterized by fine, humorous details and subtle allusions to myths, poetry and philosophy. Manfred Bischoff studied under Prof. Reinhold Reiling at the Fachschule für Gestaltung in Pforzheim and from 1977-82 under Prof. Hermann Jünger in Munich. Before moving to Italy for good, he lived in Berlin, where he was influenced by the local art and punk scene. His works are represented in all major museum collections of jewelry and author's jewelry.