Ornament in Transition. Silke Trekel Jewellery, 1995-2020

The publication Ornament in Transition provides a first detailed account of Silke Trekel’s development, of the dialogue between abstraction and ornamental tradition. Indeed, the jewellery artist invites us to rethink, for her work unites motifs and guiding concepts which to a large extent underpinned modern art: they are objects caught between sculptural spatial configurations and symbols held in suspense.

Whether titanium or industrial ceramic, plastic or sheet steel, material plays a decisive role in the works of Silke Trekel (*1969). The rhythmic design of her jewellery is a reaction to each piece’s individual texture and ensuing effect. One could almost say it is the material itself that provides the form. Silke Trekel is inspired by her surroundings: she takes photographs, collects seemingly everyday objects, and uncovers carelessly discarded items whose shape, materiality, or texture speaks to her. Engaging with the material on an experimental level is at the core of her creative process – the constant search for an unequivocal formal idiom. The many travels of the Rostock-born, Halle-educated artist have broadened her attitude. Her sojourns in New York, Singapore, and Japan as well as her engagement with the local traditions there both reinforced and expanded her aesthetic vocabulary, which is nourished by universal symbols and structural sequencing.

She also gained significant impetus from the works of the Minimalist Carl Andre. In her workgroup Raumfiguren (Spatial Figures), two-dimensional geometric elements cut from sheet steel turn into three-dimensional compositions. Silke Trekel’s interest is not, however, in the pure-play with form but in the ‘deviations and irregularities within these arrangements’.
Even when using industrial ceramic, the jewellery artist finds it fascinating to break down existing symmetries through distortions, modifications, and mutations, creating disruption along the way. It is thus a welcome challenge to transform a serial product back into a one-off.