30 years ago, an art magazine of a different kind was brought to life – for art jewelry, ceramic art and other artisanal art forms, as well as designer objects.
The keynote topic of Art Aurea’s anniversary issue is “Gifting culture – how we can imbue the act of giving with new meaning”. More than any other work of art or designer object, a piece of jewelry is a perfect gift, and even ranks among the most sustainable cultural objects ever made. Unlike historical jewelry, contemporary pieces are not created to convey prestige and status. Instead, since the Art Nouveau period, jewelry crafted by artists or in authentic ateliers and manufactories has evolved into a means for people to express their personality – something that Laurens Grigoleit from Munich impressively demonstrates in the photos he took of arrestingly distinctive women from different cultural backgrounds. We are convinced that our readers will appreciate the fact that none of them is a professional model.
The “Gifting culture” topic also inspired ten gallerists and shop owners, who each selected one object to be spotlighted in Art Aurea’s anniversary issue and whose comments convincingly explain how a product is imbued with cultural relevance. Culturally relevant objects can also be found in vintage shops and at design and art fairs, such as the design classic düsseldorf (29 November, 2015), the Cologne Fine Art (18–22 November 2015) and the design.Börse Berlin (22–24 January 2016), as well as at the relevant auctions, such as those covered in Art Aurea’s current issue.
In addition, we have dedicated three major portraits to three very different designers, who have one thing in common – a lot of passion for their work and consummate virtuosity in terms of craftsmanship: Christof Lungwitz, who crafts superbly designed wooden objects, Ipek Kotan, who creates highly impressive vessels from Limoges porcelain, and Reinhard Scheuble, who publishes exquisitely crafted artists’ books and hand-pressed books. Art Aurea 4-2015 also presents detailed reports on the upcoming trade fairs for the applied arts, such as Designgut in Switzerland, Berlin’s Zeughaus Fair, the “hinterland” sales exhibition in Mestlin, ArtDesign in Feldkirch, Austria, Sieraad in Amsterdam and, last but not least, the Grassi Fair in Leipzig. We have created the relevant comprehensive special section and complete catalog for the fifth time now – a small anniversary within the context of the larger one. We would like to thank all our readers, friends and customers who have made this possible.