NOW: Jewels by Norman Weber

Surreal, sarcastic, tantalising, and sensual beauty in jewellery 

He is still an insider’s tip, yet at the same time he enjoys the worldwide reputation of a profound protagonist of his genre, who, in the field of jewellery, skillfully juggles the ambiguous qualities of his profession...

Norman Weber is a master of self-reflexive jewellery art. With his pieces he displaces, relocates, and comments upon original functions and traditions of jewellery. For example „Super-Perls 1“, which, with its prolificacy, surpasses one’s wildest imagination – the characteristics of skin and pearls are inverted by the powder-coloured, satiny surfaces. And while classic jewellery guides the light deep inwards in order to bring transformation to the surface, the sheet aluminium of the „Dazzler“ almost aggressively reflects it back. Like foreign bodies „out of space, “ the brooches become brilliant projected surfaces. The series „Portraits“ ironises the tradition of icons on medallions, which were serially produced for protection and worship in the nineteenth century. Instead of Mary, Joseph, or martyrs, only playground idols such as Black Jack, Mr. Steel, or Barbie and Ken await the viewer. However unlike the icons, the colourful frames do not enhance the portraits. Bizarrely veiled and urged into the background, only the dull reflection of their former charm remains of our erstwhile heroes. In other nostalgic trips the use of flock (memories of sticker albums come to the fore) and the series „Private Myths“ captivate the viewer, in which the artist invites to a nostalgic journey down memory lane with teddy bears, playpens, and toy cars.

NOW. Jewels by Norman Weber presents the work of this jewellery artist for the first time. In a separate section, extraordinary photographs by Alexandra Vogt expand on the jewellery piece’s connotations by adding an additional narrative. Like Weber’s objects themselves, the photographs unite the personal and the collective. They open up the scope for association which is usually not necessarily linked with jewellery. The contributions by jewellery expert Ellen Maurer Zilioli of Bresica, the literature professor Barbara Vinken of the University of Munich, and the curator for Contemporary Art at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich Bernhardt Schwenk, address the œvre and establish inter-disciplinary references. A fresh, daring layout completes this special book and offers a fitting framework for the outstanding jewellery objects inside.

With its irony and subtlety, this jewellery throws open many questions to become a vivid conundrum of the modern world.


Photographs by Alexandra Vogt.