800°+ in tal20

Whenever enameling is considered as a separate discipline in jewelry, these three Britons inevitably rank among the most important protagonists in their profession: Elizabeth Turrell, Jessica Turrell and Susan Cross. All three have participated in countless exhibitions and workshops. Their work is seen in important collections and museums. They have taught in the past or continue to teach today. And like many creators of culture, they too are unanimous in their rejection of the Brexit. For Elke Sunder Plaßmann and Petra Waibel-Grotjans, however, the exceptional quality of the oeuvres of these three artists from Great Britain was decisive for the “800°+” exhibition at the Craft Fair in Munich.

Elizabeth Turrell works with enamel on metal and porcelain. After her country’s referendum in 2016 and the decision to leave the EU, she began making her enamel “books” and a series of brooches. The latter are crafted from thin, white, pre-enameled steel, which offers a soft surface and does not have the usual preciousness of enamel. This allows Turrell to sand and modify the surface, exposing the lowermost layer of black enamel. Jessica Turell applies enamel to etched metal. Her most recent works explore formal concepts of composition, edge, line and negative space. “I refer to agricultural landscapes, architecture and urban landscapes in small, intimate, portable objects,” she says. Susan Cross’s enamel jewelry alludes to Elizabethan blackwork embroidery from the 16th and 17th centuries. Iron was used at that time as a mordant for the black silk, which was embroidered into white linen fabric. As the years passed, corrosion destroyed the embroideries, leaving behind perforated fabrics and traces of seams. Susan Cross’s sketches retrace the lines of these structures and use them as inspirations for subtle surfaces imbued with extraordinary charm.

• 11.03.2020—15.03.2020
• Tal 20
  Entrance Radlsteg
  80331 Munich
  Germany
• Vernissage 11.03.2020, 5 – 9 p.m.
• Link