Herbert Hofmann Award eremony 2018. From the left, Dieter Dohr, GHM, jury member Cornelie Holzach, award winner Gernot Leibold, jury member Stefano Marchetti, laureate Lin Cheung, jury member Caroline Broadhead, award winner Julia Maria Künnap and Wolfgang Lösche, head of the Schmuck [Jewelery] show, Chamber of Crafts Munich and Upper Bavaria
The jury described the green brooch that Julia Maria Künnap from Estonia made from nephrite and gold and named “Why Is It All Overgrowing” as “a masterpiece of lapidary art.” In each new piece that she makes, Künnap strives “to cut the stone even more precisely, polish it even more transparently, achieve an even thinner material and a clearer concept.” Although the titles of her creations combine to form a poem, each one is an independent piece of jewelry, regardless of whether it looks like a broad blue brushstroke or a melting letter of the alphabet.
Herbert Hofmann Award winner 2018. Julia Maria Künnap, Brooch. Photo Julia Maria Künnap
Herbert Hofmann Award winner 2018. Julia Maria Künnap, Brooch. Photo Julia Maria Künnap
Gernot Leibold from Germany makes quadratic brooches which surprised the jury with their combinations of materials. His “Black Structure No. 6” combines ebony, plastics, silver and steel. With its colorful, diagonal, lateral edges, this piece seems like an open box inside of which a mysterious structure reveals itself.
Herbert Hofmann Award winner 2018. Gernot Leibold, Brooch. Photo Gernot Leibold
“Delayed Reaction Series” is the title that Herbert Hofmann prizewinner Lin Cheung of Great Britain chose for her carved stone brooches. According to the jury, the “Non Plus” brooch describes events after the EU referendum and the ongoing debate about Great Britain’s future in relation to Europe. Other brooches in this series, the jurors opine, allude to political and social changes and the associated emotions. The jury says that Lin Cheung’s artworks are a political statement which is “exemplary for questions of our time and our relationship to its values.”
Herbert Hofmann Award winner 2018. Lin Cheung. Brooch Nonplus. Photo Lin Cheung
The prizes commemorate Dr. Herbert Hofmann, who initiated the Special Show “Schmuck” on the International Crafts Fair Munich in 1959. Over 900 international jewelry designers participated this year. The pieces for the special show “Schmuck” are selected by an annually changing curator. This year’s curator was Hans Stofer, director of the jewelry class at Burg Giebichenstein in Halle.