Artists of the Gallery

Good news: As 2025 nears its end, the residents of Hamburg and their international guests can look forward to an inspiring selection of exceptional crafts and applied arts – because from November 16, 2025, to January 10, 2026, Hilde Leiss presents a veritable treasure trove of marvels in the spacious rooms of her gallery on Grosser Burstah. Visitors can expect to be captivated by the creations of renowned artists from the contemporary German and international scene. The spectrum ranges from fascinating contemporary jewelry, through artistically sophisticated vessels crafted from precious metals, glass, ceramics and wood, to imaginative accessories.

Hilde Leiss’s “Artists of the Gallery” exhibition perfectly reflects Hamburg’s cosmopolitan spirit. Among the creations on display are works by the South Korean jewelry artist Ryungjae Jung. After having earned his master’s degree at Kookmin University, he exhibited his work in Europe, America and Asia. His oeuvre skillfully combines 3D printing with traditional craftsmanship in a fascinating interplay of color, volume and movement.

The Japanese-born jewelry artist Jiro Kamata, who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, makes jewelry from optical lenses. Recently honored with a solo exhibition in Taiwan, this Munich-based artist has discovered a material for jewelry that harmonizes optical light effects with clean lines. Sam Tho Duong, who was a finalist for the prestigious Loewe Craft Prize in 2018, is represented at Hilde Leiss’s gallery with his technically and artistically sophisticated jewelry. The Spaniard Ramón Puig Cuyàs, formerly a professor at the Escola Massana in Barcelona and a recipient of the Herbert Hoffmann Prize, impresses connoisseurs with his distinctive blend of wearable painting and object art. Also noteworthy in the jewelry category is Mirjam Hiller, whose colorful and masterfully sawn brooches are globally unique.

Several other jewelry artists who are likewise featured in Hilde Leiss’s Christmas exhibition have presented spectacular solo exhibitions in recent months. They include Peter Bauhuis, Bettina Dittlmann & Michael Jank, and Babette von Dohnanyi, all of whom showed their work in Munich, as well as Doerthe Fuchs, whose solo show was hosted by Galerie Platina in Stockholm. A flurry of activity has been triggered in the art jewelry scene by burgeoning enthusiasm for the values ​​and creations of exceptional artisans whose oeuvre often blurs the boundaries between craftsmanship and fine art.

Like other areas of the arts and crafts, contemporary jewelry is particularly impressive thanks to intelligent concepts and convincing forms that manifest their autonomy through respectful attention to materials combined with originality in style and design. An increasingly large audience recognizes in them not only the unique and the special. Works of this kind not only express individuality and personality with creative finesse, but are also enduring cultural artifacts that stand in stark contrast to thoughtless mass production that rides roughshod over the environment and humanity. 

The same applies to handcrafted objects and vessels, which enrich living spaces, evoke memories of outstanding individual artists and are long-lasting sources of joy. All these works offer perspectives on virtues such as artistic appreciation, meticulousness, creativity and masterful craftsmanship. With her gallery’s program, Hilde Leiss has ably served for over 45 years as a knowledgeable and passionate communicator of these valuable qualities and, consequently, of a contemporary lifestyle that unites art, craft and mindfulness. Schnuppe von Gwinner

• 17.11.2025—10.01.2026
• Galerie Hilde Leiss
  Großer Burstah 36 – 38
  20457 Hamburg
• Mon to Fri 11am – 6pm, Sat 11am – 4pm
• Link