Warwick Freeman at the Pinakothek der Moderne

Every year during the Handwerksmesse and Munich Jewellery Week, the Pinakothek der Moderne presents the work of a renowned international jewelry artist: This year, the work of Warwick Freeman can be seen in the rotunda. Born in Nelson, New Zealand, in 1953, he has spent five decades creating a lexicon of the symbols that surround us – from the cultural symbolism of the hook and the star to the heart, made from the slag of the volcanic island of Rangitoto off the coast of Auckland. His works tell a very empathetic story of the culture and history of his country, called Aotearoa in the Māori language. “When you wear a piece of Warwick Freeman jewelry, it conveys something of who you are as a New Zealander and how you have lived,” one says in New Zealand. Against this background, Freeman has never tired of searching for the right answers for contemporary jewelry.

Warwick Freeman, Brooches White Ghost, Orange Ghost, Green Ghost, 2003. Corian, steel. Courtesy of Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, photo Die Neue Sammlung (Alexander Laurenzo).

Even as a Pākehā, as the indigenous Māori of New Zealand call those with European roots, Freeman’s work reflects a deep consideration of the construction of identity in a country that calls the culture of the Māori, Polynesia and the European settlers its own. He finds his forms as ‘waste’ of the daily living space, as remnants of colonization as in the rich geology of the country. They provide him with a rich source of materials such as the millimeter-thick mother-of-pearl of the giant clam, the iridescent inner skin of the paua, a rainbow abalone, or the pounamu, a greenstone, and stories from which he can draw.

“Hook Hand Heart Star” – the four nouns that make up the title of the exhibition in Munich are inspired by Freeman’s first compilation of such emblematic works from 1987: “Fern Fish Feather Rose”, which is now in the Sarjeant Gallery “Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui”. This work prompted him to reflect on the power of composing signs and shapes that convey stories through their emblematic readability rather than words.

Towards a rethink of jewelry

Warwick Freeman began making jewelry in 1972. In 1982, he took part in a week-long workshop in Nelson run by Hermann Jünger, a goldsmith and professor at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. As a prominent member of the Auckland jewelry cooperative Fingers, Freeman was one of those who in the 1980s finally advocated a rethink of New Zealand jewelry. Since that time, he has also taken part in international exhibitions. In 2002, he received the Francoise van den Bosch Foundation Prize and the Laureate Award of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand for his artistic work. In 2013, he gave a highly acclaimed lecture on his work at Die Neue Sammlung in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. In 2014, Freeman co-curated the exhibition Wunderrūma with jewelry artist Karl Fritsch, which was first shown at Galerie Handwerk in Munich and then at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

Warwick Freeman, brooches Flower Star, 1992, Hard Star and Soft Star, 1991. Bailer shell, jasper, gold, stainless steel, mother-of-pearl. Courtesy of Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum. Permanent loan from the Danner Foundation, Munich, photo Eva Jünger.

In 2004, Freeman was appointed as the first chairman of “Objectspace Auckland”, a state-owned gallery dedicated to the exhibition of arts and crafts, design and architecture.

His works are in public and private collections in New Zealand and in museums worldwide: Museum of New Zealand “Te Papa Tongarewa”, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, LACMA, Los Angeles, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and in Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich

The exhibition is a collaboration between Objectspace, Auckland, and Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum / Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich. Curated in close collaboration by Warwick Freeman, Kim Paton, Director, Objectspace, Dr Bronwyn Lloyd, Curator, Objectspace, and Dr. Petra Hölscher, Senior Curator, Die Neue Sammlung.