Artist in Residence Collection 2015-2023

It is our pleasure to present the continuation of the Artist in Residence programme, run by the Jakob Bengel Foundation in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences in Idar-
Oberstein, the town of Idar-Oberstein and the district of Birkenfeld. Despite the pandemic and a major fire at the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery, the programme has been able to continue almost uninterrupted. Only a few visits by jewellery artists were cancelled during the pandemic and as far as possible these are now being rearranged. In the last phase of the pandemic, we focused more than usual on German artists because of the easier travel regulations.
As with the first catalogue, and having overcome major challenges, we are more than aware of the benefits of this programme and are very grateful for the possibility of it continuing with its customary quality and frequency. Our principal interest lies in the exchange between internationally recognised jewellery artists and the students and teachers of the three gemstone and jewellery degree courses; an important element here are the workshops and lectures held at the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus and the resulting, intensive discussions with and be­tween the students.
But we are also interested in encounters with the citizens of the city of Idar-Oberstein and in having the opportunity to welcome jewellery artists from all over the world, here to the town.
As of 2022, visual artists working in various media will also be invited as Artist in Residence to Idar-Oberstein. It became clear during the first media artist’s stay, that the old chain factory’s machines can be used and appreciated in other ways than to produce chains. She used the rhythmic sound and mechanical movements of the machines to produce a video, which was later added to the collection of the Villa Bengel Foundation.

Between 2015 and 2023 a wide variety of jewellery artists visited Villa Bengel and each gave a piece on permanent loan to our collection. With this publication we would like to thank the artists for their contributions and thank the Jakob Bengel Foundation for the opportunity to continue this programme. We are delighted to present the newly added pieces in this publication.
/ Eva-Maria Kollischan, Theo Smeets, Ute Eitzenhöfer


One.Some.Many.All
A mosaic of memories

One collected abstractly shaped agates. One showed me a new way of imitating stones. One explored the world of contemporary jewellery with us in Munich. One came just before the big fire and lived through the tragedy with us. One discovered the material Galalith. One helped me to find ease working with a difficult technique. One became a friend. One used our machines differently than we do. One used sound as a medium, a material that is quite different to work with than stone or metal. One, I sometimes met in my smoking break. One was one of the most famous artists on the European jewellery scene and later invited us to her workshop. One said that in Idar-Oberstein, every day felt like a Sunday. One opened my eyes to the world of synthetic stones, which I had previously dismissed as less valuable. One went with me to a theatre performance in German, which she only partly understood. One showed me how I could work stones without a proper grinding workshop. One explained to me how he built networks as a student. One, whose jewellery I reinterpreted for my project, I met later at a symposium and was able to exchange ideas with her. One explain­ed to me how he was able to overcome the incipient block shortly after graduation. One offered us the time to talk about our work. One helped me to adopt a new work routine. One made me aware of how important the positioning of the workbench is within the workshop. One gave me valuable input on the subject that was preoccupying me. One helped me appreciate anew how valuable our town’s surroundings and tranquillity are for artistic work. One became part of our community, even outside of artistic practice. One spoke the language of my homeland, which made me feel at home. One showed me how she worked with materials from her household during the pandemic. One made the pandemic itself a subject and thus found a way to process the situation. Some told me that it wasn’t easy for artists to settle into the new community at first either. Some gave me feedback that helped me to progress my work.
Many we got to know through our international dinner and thus lost our ‘first meeting nerves’. Many ended their stay with bags full of stones. Many showed the inspiring pieces they made with us on their workbench. Many shared our love of stone and were amazed by the abundance of shapes and colours. Many cooked and ate together with us in the kitchen every day. All of them gave us an insight, through their presentations, into their way of working and the topics that occupied them.
All gave me a new perspective on jewellery making and the materials used in it. All of them made me think about my own work. All of them showed me how important it is to exchange ideas with other artists and to have the courage to approach people who are more established than oneself. All have a certain artistic signature that I still recognise today in galleries and exhibitions.
All of them brought a breath of fresh air to Idar-Oberstein.
/ Helena Renner, Julia Plura


Photo credits: all photos Cornelia Wruck and Gülçe Kulac 4, 10; Chen Lin 6; Nadja Stefer 8; Lena Bonsack Umschlag, 66, 103–112; artists 32, 61–63, 77.
Translation Andrea Holme.
Layout: Cornelia Wruck.
Copy editing: Oranna Kammann.

We are grateful for the generous support of the ”Freundeskreis Jakob Bengel Denkmal e.V.“, the ”Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld“, the county Birkenfeld and the City of Idar-Oberstein.


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