Winners of the manu factum 2015 Awards

An exhibition is showcasing works created by the winners of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Awards for Arts and Crafts

The six winners of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Awards for the Arts and Crafts – Ursula Biskup, Kirsten Diez-Reinbeck, Cornelia Falk and Katrin Reinke, Klemens Grund and Katja Skoppek – received their prizes in Cologne on Saturday, August 22, 2015, from the Minister for Economic Affairs, Garrelt Duin, himself. In the presence of approximately 300 invited guests, he commented the ceremony as follows: “By conferring the manu factum State Awards, we aim to publicly recognize and sustainably promote the artistic potential of the arts and crafts.”

The winners of the manu factum 2015 Awards

The winners of the manu factum 2015 Awards (front row, from left to right): Ursula Biskup, Katja Skoppek, Kirsten Diez-Reinbeck, Klemens Grund, Cornelia Falk and Katrin Reinke, and their congratulators (back row, from left to right): the Minister for Economic Affairs, Garrelt Duin, Major Hans-Werner Bartsch, the President of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts, Hans-Peter Wollseifer, and the President of the North Rhine-Westphalian Crafts Association, Andreas Ehlert. Photo Wilfried Meyer

123 exhibits, covering the entire gamut from elegant furniture via a photo series to a textile installation or innovatively designed jewelry, are giving a representative overview of contemporary arts and crafts until October 11. Roos Arntz-van Doren, chairwoman of the North Rhine-Westphalia Artisans Association, observed an increased interest in the competition: 436 participants, as many as never before, had submitted their creations to be appraised by the jurors. Presented every two years since the 1960s, the Awards have been considerably enhanced as regards their status and have also been based on a new concept in 2015. So the applicants were able to submit their works in six categories: furniture, sculpture, jewelry, garments, media and home accessories. The awards, worth 10,000 euros each, were presented in five of the six categories (there was no award in the “media” category). The winners are:

Ursula Biskup

Ursula Biskup received the award in the “jewelry” category for a pair of earrings that skillfully wed a minimalist formal idiom to a sophisticated combination of gold and silk threads. With this innovative jewelry creation, this goldsmith and jewelry designer from Neuss has won the award for the second time since 1997. Click here to go to Uli Biskup’s profile on artaurea.com.

Award winner Ursula Biskup at the manu factum 2015 exhibition

Award winner Ursula Biskup at the manu factum 2015 exhibition

Ursula Biskup , Star Talers 2 earrings. manu factum 2015

Star Talers 2 earrings. 585 gold, silk, 26 x 48 mm

Kirsten Diez-Reinbeck

“The Ocean Within Me”, an installation created by the ceramist Kirsten Diez-Reinbeck in the “sculpture” category, is a poetic creation that presents the wave motif in various forms: text, shape and spatial arrangement. In particular, the jury commended “the accomplished combination of material and artistic idea”.

Kirsten Diez-Reinbeck, The Ocean Within Me installation. 36 porcelain bowls with relief prints, on oxidized metal stands - manu factum 2015

The Ocean Within Me installation. 36 porcelain bowls with relief prints, on oxidized metal stands

Cornelia Falk and Katrin Reinke

The patchwork artist Cornelia Falk and the photographer Katrin Reinke successfully submitted a joint creation in the competition’s “home accessories” category. This complex and multi-faceted object, a “symbiosis of photography and textile design” comprising two- and three-dimensional elements, is themed around structural change.

Cornelia Falk und Katrin Reinke. Quilted Structural Change or 3D – 2D – 3D wall object. Polyester, fleece, partly colored seams, 16 quilted elements, 205 x 205 cm. Manu factum 2015

Quilted Structural Change or 3D – 2D – 3D wall object. Polyester, fleece, partly colored seams, 16 quilted elements, 205 x 205 cm

Klemens Grund

Klemens Grund submitted a pair of chairs crafted from solid oak wood in the “furniture” category. Comprising a chair and a matching foldable chair, this product family impressed the jurors with its elegant lines and the exquisite craftsmanship involved.

Klemens Grund and his Pair of Chairs, a chair and an identical folding chair crafted from solid oak wood and brass. Manu factum 2015

Klemens Grund and his Pair of Chairs, a chair and an identical folding chair crafted from solid oak wood and brass.

Katja Skoppek

The 25-year-old student Katja Skoppek won the award in the “garments” category for a conceptual creation, a large-format textile installation that is to be interpreted as a metaphor for the process of getting dressed.

Katja Skoppek and her textile installation entitled Reflections on the Clothing Process. Virgin wool, 150 x 300 cm. Manu factum 2015

Katja Skoppek and her textile installation entitled Reflections on the Clothing Process. Virgin wool, 150 x 300 cm

The rooms of the manu factum 2015 exhibition

The rooms of the manu factum 2015 exhibition

  • Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln
    An der Rechtschule
    50667 Cologne
    Germany
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