The Bride, The Groom and The Best Man

Britton, Bielander and Minegishi in their studio

Australia, Switzerland and Japan. Three people working together for 13 years in the same room, and before that working together in a much smaller room, during their studies. But all the time working separately too, the position of the individual work could not be more disparate: in Yutaka’s case the meticulous reduction of a single material to a perfect form, in David’s case the transformation of exactly the right material in the pursuit of a instantly recognizable figurative picture, and in my case the obsessive, complex construction, both theoretically and practically, of heterogeneous worlds. Three very different cultures, three very different educations. Each has always pursued an authentic private vision, having built their practice in a time before the global explosion of contemporary art jewellery, and the age of style surfing and the quick fix. Despite or perhaps because of these contrasts there are threads that run through, the foreignness of each to the other a strong facination, as are the shared interests; cooking, collecting, music. And of course sharing a space making this kind of work is also sharing a life, now almost 20 years of life as foreign jewellers in Germany. Not at all surprizing that they can call this show The Bride, The Groom and The Best Man.

Text Helen Britton