The variety of excellent craftsmanship, sophisticated design and the most diverse art genres is more complex today than ever before. Even more important is a growing open-mindedness and acceptance among the disciplines. Although the barriers that have grown historically – for example between fine arts and crafts – have not disappeared, they are more permeable than ever. The fact that this is happening simultaneously in many countries and cultures is a ray of hope in the political turmoil of our time.
At the Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt in Munich, artists and craftspeople from many countries design and produce stained glass and mosaics, both historical and contemporary, for churches, modern buildings, and private and public spaces. Ira Mazzoni and Ulrike Myrzik offer insights into an innovative family business with a long tradition, presently run by Petra and Michael Mayer in the fifth generation.
Public art: Nick Cave’s mosaics Each One, Every One, (pictured) and Equal All, 2022 at Grand Central Subway station at Times Square. © Mayer of Munich, Nick Cave, NYC, commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo MTA /Trent Reeves.
What a contrast to this is the “wooden world” of the Sanktjohanser family in Uffing am Staffelsee. For father Hubert and son Matthias, it is all about functional furniture with a clear design and high precision. Production in this Bavarian carpenter’s workshop embodies a counter-concept to industrial massproduced goods – a central theme of our magazine for nearly forty years. Julia Metzdorf visited the family business, where aesthetic competence is also of a feminine nature.
Sanktjohanser furniture is the antithesis of mass-produced industrial goods. For father Hubert and son Matthias, it is about well-thought-out furniture in a clear design, manufactured with high precision. Photo Ulrike Myrzik.
The fascinating portraits of women in the photographic art exhibition at the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn are not least about the significance of personal belongings. Sarah Cooper from the USA and Nina Gorfer from Austria traveled far and wide to speak with women about migration, displacement, feminism and cultural identity. Based on these experiences, the duo portrayed women from their local community who had either come to Sweden as refugees or are adult children of immigrants. All were asked to bring something that was connected to their identity or culture or had been in their family for generations. We thank the CODA museum and the artist duo Cooper & Gorfer for the magnificent photos and a perspective that is all too often ignored in today’s heated political discussions.
Shadi or the Girl with Many Hands, 2018. From the series Between These Folded Hands, Utopia. Photographic art by Cooper & Gorfer at the CODA Museum Apeldoorn. Until May 18, 2025. www.coda-apeldoorn.nl
Curators’ Choice – Short Portraits, Selected by Leading Curators
In collaboration with international curators, our Curator’s Choice section once again reveals the fluid boundaries between art, craftsmanship and design. Wooden sculptures by Konrad Koppold, textile works by Hanne Friis, jewelry by Rudee Tancharoen and ceramic objects by Yoshikawa Masamichi all combine outstanding craftsmanship and art in an exemplary manner.
Konrad Koppold, selected by Eleonora Raspi, curator of Kalpa Gallery, Italy. Wooden object Freiform, 2024. Oak, smoked, brushed on the outside, whitewashed and soaped, blackened and oiled on the inside, 45 x 35 x 35 cm. © Konrad Koppold.
Interviews
London gallerist Sarah Myerscough also operates at the interface between art, craftsmanship and design with her concept. It is quite clear that creative diversity functions as a connective, integrative force – and what could be more important in today’s world?
“Material-based Art” is the title of the Oslo-based Galleri Format‘s exhibition concept. The first solo show of 2025 was dedicated to the jewelry artist Sigurd Bronger. Gallery director Irija Øwre about jewelry art in Norway.
Review
Special exhibition Schmuck 2025 in Munich. Jewelry can be art. This has been proven for decades by the Schmuck exhibition at the Internationale Handwerksmesse in Munich, which takes place this year from March 12 to 16.
Jewelry design 2025. It is an expression of a modern spirit and has established itself as an integral part of contemporary jewelry culture. Innovations from leading German designers.
Art in Gold. An exhibition at the Benaki Museum in Athens is showing Hellenistic jewelry and contemporary jewelry inspired by it from Greece, Italy and Germany.
Spoons of Delight. The Nederlands Zilvermuseum Schoonhoven honors Paul Derrez, a pioneer of art jewelry, with the exhibition “Celebrating Life”.
Interazione. Exhibition at Isabella Hund in Munich with Maria Rosa Franzin and Gigi Mariani from Italy – a highlight during the Munich Jewelry Week.
Bernard Heesen: Verre Brut. Dutch glass art at Brutto Gusto in Berlin. The reference to Art Brut is not coincidental and is also a testament to how art and craftsmanship permeate each other.
The “Zukünfte” [Futures] exhibition at the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, curated by Sabine Epple and Silvia Gaetti, is about the future role of design in society. Can design take on the networking role between research, industry and society? Schnuppe von Gwinner is optimistic.
Exhibition Zukünfte [Futures] at the GRASSI Museum in Leipzig. Jacket made of woven strips of tree bark. Charlotte Wenig developed it in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. Still running until August 24, 2025. grassi-leipzig.de
The latest issue of Art Aurea has 92 pages including the cover. It is designed and printed like an art book and is available at leading galleries and shops for applied art and jewelry.
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