Is it a question of the place and its history? The people? Or the time? Or is it a collection of similar types of people who have a style-defining effect on a place, or who stand for it or are named as representatives of it? The independent positions of Sophie Baumgärtner, Jutta Kallfelz, Rudolf Kocea and Christine Matthias, although they studied at Burg Giebichenstein in Halle at different times and under different teaching approaches, allow conclusions to be drawn about a similar basic attitude: the materials are traditional in the broadest sense. They often appear to have grown, as if they were only created during the production process of the pieces. Pure in their materiality, the works are often surrounded by a touch of heaviness.

16 October to 7 December 2018 at Villa Bengel

Founded in 1818 by the goldsmith, can maker and foundryman Johann Karl Schmidt, Gebrüder Schmidt has been characterised from the outset by its willingness to invest in technical innovations.

For example, the first steam engine in the Principality of Birkenfeld ran at Gebrüder Schmidt. This and the in-house electroplating facility made the company one of the leading producers of mass-produced semi-finished products.

The company was quick to react to the transition from manual production to industrial manufacturing in the 19th century. The exhibition will feature jewellery and gallantry items, business and sample books as well as photographs from the company archive, realised with the financial support of the Rhineland-Palatinate Cultural Summer.

22 June - 14 October 2018 in the Villa Bengel

Pforzheim is known worldwide for its jewellery industry, which was founded 250 years ago. But there have been and still are individual jewellery designers of outstanding importance in the gold town. The Pforzheim gemstone and jewellery company Schütt took this constellation as an opportunity to invite 18 jewellery artists with close ties to Pforzheim to take part in the "unikate" exhibition project. In the run-up to the exhibition, they were able to choose a gemstone from the Schütt range on the condition that the stone of their choice was incorporated into the design of the piece of jewellery to be exhibited. The aim was not only to promote local designers, but also to channel the theme of gemstone processing into new creative directions.

29 March - 6 May 2018 at Villa Bengel

Computer applications and modern production methods have not only changed industry in the last 20 years, they have also brought about a change in work processes in the artistic and craft sectors. A new formal language and new subject areas have emerged in art and design. Svenja John and Beate Eismann have integrated digital methods into their working process, thereby leaving the boundaries of conventional jewellery design behind. The results could not be more different, as could the different approaches of the two artists.

From 29 June - 6 October 2016 at Villa Bengel

"Felix Lindner's works are characterised by an uncompromising approach to materials and their possible combinations. Often an existing object - sought or found - is the starting point for a new piece. Technical ingenuity is used in Felix Lindner's jewellery to achieve the desired result." (Ward Schrijver)

20th century comic strips, industrial design and the virtuosity of old masters are among Felix Lindner's many sources of inspiration. With clearly defined shapes and colours, he creates jewellery that does not reveal its secrets at first glance. In an elaborate process, everyday objects are integrated into a minimalist design language: they are turned into pieces of jewellery.

From 26 April - 19 June 2016 at Villa Bengel

After training as a steel engraver, Pforzheim-born Alfred Bauer played a key role in shaping the jewellery collections of the Oberstein-based company Klein & Quenzer as a "pattern maker" until 1976. He has also earned a high reputation as an award-winning freelance jewellery designer. His works are formally influenced by the art movements of Art Informel and Zero and are important testimonies to the fashion jewellery of the 1960s and 1970s.

In addition to drawings and costume jewellery, the exhibition also shows jewellery works for his wife Milli Bauer, which have been donated to the collection of the Bengel Industrial Monument and will be shown there in the future.

6 March - 17 April 2016

During the restoration work, historic Art Deco-style costume jewellery produced by the Jakob Bengel company in the 1920s and 1930s will be on display at Villa Bengel. This is mainly neck jewellery made of chrome and the early plastic Galalith, which is presented together with old sample books, price lists and sample cards.

The exhibition is also complemented by the "Collection Art Déco" from the company Jakob Bengel Idar-Oberstein (JBIO), which was founded that year. Made from original patterns and tools, the jewellery revives and reinterprets the forgotten material "Galalith".

23 November 2015, 18:00 Opening

24 November 2015 - 28 February 2016 at Villa Bengel

New Rings by DOT

The exhibition shows works by DOT, a graduate of the Master's degree course at Trier University of Applied Sciences, specialising in gemstones and jewellery, who, after completing his studies in spring this year, quickly created a collection of rings that raise questions about the identity of the artist, the viewer and the adorned object:

What is feminine, what is masculine? Which creative expression can dissolve these attributions? Who is the "I" in DOT, which hands have created these rings, which will adorn them?

“While viewing the rings you recognize a gender study.                                                                      
 Both feminine and masculine forms are expressed by
 inner containing worlds, of phallus and aggressive forms. 
A combination of gemstones and metal connect  to each other by layers and phases.

Metal that heals a wounded stone, a setting that simulates

a gemstone to the human mind. Within you see a complexity

of materials, colour and size that creates a sculptural object,

however still maintaining its original function as a ring.”

07 December 2016 - 07 March 2017 in the Villa Bengel

The circle is the design element that runs through Jiro Kamata's retrospective at Villa Bengel. Starting with his first piece of jewellery, a ring, this original form and ambiguous symbol can be found in many of his works. Like individual links in a piece of jewellery, the showcases are connected by chains made by Jakob Bengel in an expansive installation. This creates a cycle in which the works enter into a dialogue, refer to each other and reflect on each other - without beginning or end. Jiro Kamata is currently Artist in Residence at the Bengel Industrial Monument and the Idar-Oberstein Campus.

15 October - 09 November 2015 at the Villa Bengel

The Oberstein companies Gebrüder Stern and Gebrüder Schmidt were leaders in the production of so-called gallantry goods from the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. These accessories were an important pillar of Oberstein's industry in the last two centuries.

The exhibition is divided into two sections: The company Gebrüder Schmidt, which still exists today, is represented with smoking and desk sets for men. The gallantry items for ladies on display in the Villa Bengel - powder compacts, evening bags, cigarette cases and accessories for the toilet table - are from the stocks of the Gebrüder Stern company. The gallantry items on display were mainly produced in the first third of the last century.

The finissage of the exhibition will take place on Wednesday, 7 October 2015 in Idar-Oberstein at Villa Bengel, Wilhelmstraße 44, at 18:30. Julia Wild will give an introduction to the exhibition.

25 May to 7 October 2015 at Villa Bengel

The "SleepLess" exhibition shows a selection of graduation projects from the last three years, which were created at Trier University of Applied Sciences, Idar-Oberstein Campus, Department of Gemstone and Jewellery.

17 graduates from 15 different countries will present their pieces in the Villa Bengel. Among them are the first graduates of the newly accredited Fine Arts degree programmes. The associated expansion of the theoretical part of the course has led to a great deal of freedom in dealing with the term "jewellery".  The increasing co-operation with regional companies is also reflected in the work, the aim of which is in particular to investigate new techniques of stone processing and their possibilities for free design.

23 June to 3 August 2015 - Villa Bengel

Magnification Reframed

Vermandere presents an installation consisting of a table full of magnifier lamps. Under these magnifiers one can see pieces of jewellery from different periods of his artistic career. Mostly brooches and some rings. Titles play an important role in his work: Freestyle Atomics, Hotton Wheels, Matchbox Label Collection, Cosmic Noise, Tintinnabulum...they all tell a part of the artistic story. Another important part are the materials: silver and gold, aluminium and (gem)stones. A fascination for stone has always been there and aluminium entered his work when he was offered an original panel from the Atomium, the iconic Expo 58 building in Brussels, when it was renovated in 2008.

Adansonia Digitata

At some point you look in the mirror and ask: who is this person? What happened on the way, how did you get there? Did you grow up? Is this still you or is this somebody else? You look to this image from different angles, like from somebody else's viewpoint. You reflect. Who do you see?

Silke Fleischer
 "I've got seven ways of going, I've got seven ways to be, I've got seven sweet disguises, I've got seven ways of being me ..."Patti Smith - The histories of the universe lie in the sleeping sex of a woman Number 7 has a biblical significance and it also corresponds to the days of the week, repeating themselves endlessly in a loop... - over and over and over ... . 
A repetition that is being reflected in the new work by Silke Fleischer, as the routine of the everyday. The presented jewellery works refer to settings and actions and are questioning a break through this daily routine.

Carine Van Landeghem
"My work offers the observer different aspects, 
opinions and views on the eidos (shape, stature).It reflects what the mind wants it to be."

Arnaud Sprimont
Using modern techniques, ranging from nano-scale imagery to satellite views, A. S. challenges the boundaries of his body and his perception of the world around him. The study of pseudomorphosisms is echoed in the perception of his own experiences. Reflecting and blending scales back and forth,the infinitely large finds meaning in the infinitely small, where an abyss of possibilities opens itself up to him.

Peter Vermandere
Peter Vermandere´s works with real matter. He is a firm believer in serendipity, he makes unforeseen discoveries while (re)searching something else. Maybe because of his name (Gr. Petros = rock) or maybe because of 
childhood memories, his main inspirational starting point is stone and the various geological processes by which rocks are formed. He even tries to make his favorite metal, aluminium, look like stone.

In April 2015 Peter Vermandere was invited as Artist in Residence at the Bengel Foundation in Idar-Oberstein.

20. April - 19. Mai 2015 at Villa Bengel

Helen Britton is considered "the most imitated jewellery artist of our time". She says of her working method: "The fact that I make jewellery, drawings and paper objects rather than rides, buildings or gardens allows me to create a very private world in a way that accepts no compromise. Unfolding matter into itself, transforming it in unpredictable ways, wrapping a matter in itself to transform it in unpredictable ways, comes from a love of materials, from a sense of pleasure in the simple qualities: colour, texture, form and their effect on my senses. I have always had an empathy for objects, and in my practice in recent years I have developed an interest in those awkward and sometimes ugly fragments, collecting those hidden beauties and components that seem to me destined for a life as jewellery."

9 December 2014 - 31 March 2015 at Villa Bengel

The Department of Gemstone and Jewellery at Trier University of Applied Sciences in Idar-Oberstein is exhibiting a selection of the semester and final year projects from its Bachelor's and Master's degree courses.

In addition to jewellery and gemstone works, photographs and (small) sculptures are also on display.

A publication will accompany the exhibition.

18 October - 30 October 2014 at the university

The work of Belgian artist David Huycke moves between the poles of sculpture and everyday objects. His objects, which in this respect mark the intersection of art, craftsmanship and design, are rarely developed around a specific theme. Nevertheless, Huycke translates recurring themes such as the fascination with the "impossible" or the love/hate relationship into ornamental forms and decorations. In doing so, he shows a marked preference for technical processes and material qualities, which he brings into a fascinating order in the seemingly chaotic cosmos of his works.

18 October - 2 December 2014 at the university

Giampaolo Babetto is undisputedly one of the grand masters of contemporary jewellery. Having grown up and trained at Mario Pinton's school in Padua, the philosophy and art of the Renaissance, particularly the architecture of Andrea Palladio, which was omnipresent in this region, had a lasting influence on him. The basic Palladian idea that the "human being should be at the centre" of the artistic work can be felt, experienced and, above all, worn in Babetto's jewellery.

The exhibition embodies the motto of this year's 10th SchmuckDenken Symposium in every respect: "Art and the good life".

18 October - 2 December 2014 at Villa Bengel

The jewellery department of St. Lucas University in Antwerp is presenting a project that focuses on artistic practice after graduation. In particular, it seeks an answer to the question of how artists can successfully face competition in a globalised world.

Featuring: Clarisse Bruynbroeck, Shana Teugels, Hilde De Decker, Hilde Van der Heyden, Pia Clauwaert, Liesbet Bussche

The exhibition consists of 5 sub-projects:

• MAKE ME A FUTURE (the beginning)
• MAKE ME WORK (Increase the uniqueness)
• MAKE ME SHOW (Tell your story)
• MAKE ME A FACE (Create an identity)
• MAKE ME MONEY (Professionalise your skills)

24 June - 7 October 2014 at the Villa Bengel

In cooperation with Trier University of Applied Sciences, the Jakob Bengel Foundation has been inviting renowned jewellery artists to Idar-Oberstein as "Artists in Residence" since May 2006. All of the 40 artists in residence have given the Jakob Bengel Foundation a piece of jewellery on permanent loan at the end of their stay.

This collection reflects the atmosphere of the listed jewellery manufactory and the omnipresent glittering world of gemstones in Idar-Oberstein from the perspective and in the work of the individual artists.

8 April - 10 May 2014 in the Villa Bengel

For the second time, works from the extremely vibrant jewellery scene in Tallinn (Estonia) will be shown in Idar Oberstein. The new works by the Öhuloss Group also focus on the aesthetic dimensions of gemstones. On display are works of spiritual power that are not only rooted in Estonian mythology and history, but also reflect the magic of the Baltic landscape.

Participating artists: Kadri Mälk, Piret Hirv, Tanel Veenre, Eva Margus-Villems, Kristina Laurits, Villu Plink.

28 November 2013 - 09 March 2014 at Villa Bengel

Ulrich Reithofer graduated from the gemstone and jewellery department in Idar-Oberstein in 2003.

Since then he has been working independently in Amsterdam. "I am contemporary because I am now. And I'm a jeweller because what I want is to be carried away, taken in by someone. Birthday, wedding, engagement ... the work might be given as a meaningful gift related to jewellery. I just made a ring for a newborn baby and his mum. And that's why I'm a jeweller."

16 October - 21 November 2013 at Villa Bengel

Oberstein jewellery from the 1950s and 1960s

The "economic miracle years" were the last great heyday for the Oberstein costume jewellery industry - before the production of costume jewellery migrated to the emerging countries of the Third World in the run-up to globalisation. Production in the 1950s and 1960s was characterised by new materials such as "anodising" and new manufacturing processes such as centrifugal casting. It was not limited to the production of "Chanel chains". The exhibition shows typical products of the period and establishes a link to the art trends of the time.

03 July - 08 October 2013 in the Jakob Bengel Industrial Monument

Tasso Mattar became known for his choice of materials, themes and exhibition venues. We remember his concrete neck jewellery, in which the usual jewellery gold disappears into the concrete as reinforcement, or the exhibition "Jewellery in the sausage counter" from 1985 in a Cologne butcher's shop, which has already become a legend.

For him, jewellery making is an open game with the "noble" in the world of the profane or vice versa. A constant give and take! Accordingly, "give" and "take" is not only the name for the two amber hands depicted, but also the title of this exhibition.

Tasso Mattar studied at the Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences under Reinhold Reiling.
He has been working as a freelance artist since 1979.

03 July - 08 October 2013 at Villa Bengel

Robert Smit is considered a pioneer and style icon of contemporary jewellery art. His work is characterised by border crossings in which the contours of jewellery art, drawing, painting and sculpture become blurred. Robert Smit is a master in all disciplines and switches artistic disciplines with virtuosity. His jewellery is predominantly characterised by colour, line and gold.

In the exhibition accompanying SchmuckDenken 9, Smit is showing a selection of drawings and jewellery from forty years of artistic activity.

22 May - 23 June 2013 at Villa Bengel

I visited the centre of New Mexico - so many dead trees, pieces of abandoned cars, fridges, tin cans, wood, plastics, broken things. Unwanted trash left to age and change over time. These discarded found pieces travelled back with me to become the starting point for a new group of works. I wanted to start with material that had previously been part of another story, exposed to weathering and renewed by the extreme climatic conditions to which it had been exposed. A part of creation, a natural process of destruction and reconstruction.

03 April - 12 May 2013 in the Villa Bengel

After studying at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (class of Hermann Jünger), the artist has been working as a freelance jewellery artist since 1989. Her work has been recognised by many national and international exhibitions and awards. In her work, she concentrates on necklaces that are characterised by a clear commitment to ornament and wearability. In doing so, she takes a firm stand between all the trends in contemporary jewellery. She does not want to create "author jewellery", unique pieces or communication design. She has thus "found her very own, unmistakable language without focussing on radicalism or provocation." (Prof Dr Thomas Raff)

16 January - 08 March 2013 at the Villa Bengel

Tabea Reulecke (D), Maarja Niinemägi (EST), Teresa Lane (AUS)

Love and desire have always been depicted in jewellery and objects. The jewellery artists, women from very different cultural backgrounds, bring together very personal objects in an exhibition. They present their reflections and ideas of romantic love today in jewellery and objects. The exhibits make use of historical and mythological archetypes and carefully question contemporary ideas of Eros. They examine which jewellery women use to show their "romantic" status, draw attention to themselves and express their longings and desires.

17 October 2012 - 10 January 2013 at Villa Bengel

The exhibition provides an insight and, as far as possible, an overview of the current state of author's jewellery in Israel. It shows the special features of Israeli author's jewellery in relation to Central European jewellery. Due to the political situation, a particular degree of politicisation of jewellery can be observed. Although many of the jewellery artists only remain in jewellery for a few years and tend to switch to the fine arts and design, there is a great deal of continuity in their development.
The exhibition is not a retrospective. Nevertheless, three artists from the first style-forming generation, Vered Kaminski, Esther Knobel and Deganit Stern-Schocken, are particularly honoured. A further 10 artists will be presented in a smaller selection. A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition.

15 August - 9 October 2012 at Villa Bengel

Peter Bauhuis' (born 1965) jewellery and vessels focus on experimenting with the process of casting and melting metal. By playing with oxidation, he achieves unexpected colour effects. Supposed casting defects such as fine lines, cracks or sprue channels are integrated into the moulds. This results in an incredible lightness for metal. He questions the gestures of jewellery and our viewing habits with subtle humour. Peter Bauhuis studied at the Academy of Fine Arts under Otto Künzli. He has been working as a freelance artist since 1999. His work has been recognised through exhibitions at home and abroad as well as through major prizes.

The historic "Jakob Bengel watch chain and jewellery factory" is currently preparing a new permanent exhibition. One highlight of this exhibition will be a collection of historical Bengel jewellery from the Art Deco era of the 1920s/1930s. With the support of the Rhineland-Palatinate Cultural Foundation, a collection of more than 100 high-quality pieces of jewellery as well as a large number of sample cards and other historical company documents have been purchased and can now be presented to the public for the first time.

Today, "men's jewellery" often seems to be reduced to prestige objects such as watches or sports cars. In contrast to the turn of the century 1900, "men's jewellery" is no longer an object of everyday culture.
In the decades before 1914, often referred to as "the founding years", the "gentleman of the world" not only adorned himself with magnificent watch chains and "chatelaines", fine tie pins and cufflinks. He also displayed his importance in society with "gallantry goods" such as splendid cigarette cases and elaborately engraved lighters. The professions also manifested their art and importance through opulent necklaces adorning their professional costumes. The exhibition takes us back to the period between 1860 and 1914 and shows a selection of representative pieces of jewellery for men made in Idar-Oberstein.

4 July - 4 October 2012 in the Bengel Industrial Monument

This year marks the end of the diploma programme at the University of Applied Sciences. It will be followed by internationally oriented Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes. The exhibition shows a selection of final theses from the last year of diploma students at the UAS. Once again, the entire spectrum of the diploma programme in Idar-Oberstein is on display. The works present personalities who have developed to a remarkable artistic maturity, they testify to their own style and authentic formal language - at the height of our time. Participating diploma students are Hye-Shil Kim, Tatjana Giorgadse, Penka Arabova, Matthias Dyer and Alexander Friedrich.

Born in Cape Town, the artist studied goldsmithing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Professor Hermann Jünger between 1974 and 1980 after studying in South Africa. Since 1980 he has worked as a freelance jewellery and ceramic artist with multiple exhibitions in Germany and abroad. Since 2003 he has been teaching sculpture and jewellery at the Burg Giebichenstein Art Academy in Halle. The exhibition gives a deep insight into the work of the artist, who examines the aesthetic qualities of every material he comes across - whether glass or rough diamond - and makes them speak to the wearer as a very personal object, as a ring, bracelet, brooch or necklace.

The exhibition "New Jewellery from Idar-Oberstein 4" shows a selection of current works by students of the "Gemstone and Jewellery Design" course at Trier University of Applied Sciences. The exhibition includes the Diploma, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree programmes. Works from all stages of the degree programme are on display, providing an authentic picture of the level of achievement in the subject area as well as the personal and artistic development of the students.

8 May - 15 May 2012 at the university

The "Spirit of Stone" project turned the Finnish city of Lappeenranta into an international centre for contemporary author jewellery in May 2011. In workshops, a symposium, exhibitions and a competition for young talent, renowned jewellery artists from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Australia, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Switzerland set about exploring the "soul" of stone. The result was an exhibition with works by 22 artists, which was shown in Lappeenranta from 8 May 2011 to 8 January 2012 as a cooperation between Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, one of Finland's leading jewellery companies KALEVALA Jewelry and the South Karelia Museum.

3 April - 3 May 2012 at Villa Bengel

Barcelona is one of the European cities with an extremely lively jewellery scene: many designers, galleries and museums as well as an important jewellery internet platform "klimt02" are located here. The links between the universities in Barcelona and Idar-Oberstein have been strengthened in recent years through a variety of exchange activities: several graduates from Barcelona are currently studying in Idar-Oberstein on the Master's degree course in gemstone and jewellery design. "Barcelona, Barcelona" shows a representative selection of current works by artists who are closely associated with the Spanish jewellery centre.

18 January - 13 March 2012 at Villa Bengel

With her unique pieces, Saskia Detering creates suggestive, sculptural images of warmth, coolness, flowing, blooming, holding. One evokes the other, the expansive calls for the concentrated, the brightly coloured demands the pale, the transparent in succession. Her mostly large-format and massive works nevertheless have a dimension that allows a personal approach, they are "chamber music". She places her work under the motto of Jacques Lipschitz: "In fact, sculpture is a man-made companion, with an immortal human heart in it, which emits impulses that constantly give us joy, warm us and teach us, all at the same time."

29 November 2011 - 12 January 2012 at Villa Bengel

Mirjam Dreher has been studying gemstone and jewellery design for four years.
The exhibition shows works from the last two semesters in which she has intensively explored the theme of space formation in transparent stone. The works, created in collaboration with the company Herbert Stephan KG, explore the interplay between stone and metal and aim to combine function and design. The innovative use of a wide variety of techniques has resulted in new types of work. Mirjam Dreher's jewellery has the character of individual pieces, but can also be produced in series.

25 October - 11 November 2011 at the Kreissparkasse in Idar

For the special aesthetics of Villa Bengel, the artist has conceived an exhibition project in which he examines the diverse relationships between jewellery and its wearers. By relating his works to rather everyday jewellery illustrations and confronting them with the profane practice of adornment, he goes back to the roots of goldsmithing, leaves behind the perspective of the jewellery artist or designer and arrives at surprising insights.

11 October - 23 November 2011 at Villa Bengel

Geschliffene Preziosen aus Idar

This exhibition takes us back to the early years of costume jewellery with a collection of samples never before shown on this scale and selected precious stones from Idar gemstone dealers. A variety of original and enchanting jewellery objects made of agate, onyx, German lapis, rock crystal and amethyst are on display. Worn on a wide variety of social occasions, they became indispensable decorative and representative accessories for fashion-conscious middle-class women and important testimonies to the everyday culture of the upper middle classes in the imperial era. The exhibits also bear witness to the high level of development of Idar's cutlery trade before the introduction of lapidary.

5 August - 04 October 2011 in the Villa Bengel

Born in Erfurt in 1941, the jewellery artist is one of the well-known personalities of the jewellery scene in the former GDR. Against the dictates of state cultural policy, she set milestones of artistic freedom with her work for decades.
As co-founder and long-standing organiser of the "Erfurt Jewellery Symposium", which has been taking place since 1984, she developed into an artistic personality of early author jewellery.
The exhibition shows a cross-section of her work.

28 June - 28 July 2011 in the Villa Bengel

Dorothea Prühl (*1937, Breslau) is one of the outstanding protagonists of contemporary jewellery. This exhibition is taking place as part of this year's "SchmuckDenken" symposium with the theme "Art/Design and Social Responsibility". Prühl not only creates her statements with a master's hand in gold and silver, wood, aluminium, titanium or stainless steel, the works are also impressive testimonies to her interpretation of the essential, without losing sight of the social context of jewellery.
Dorothea Prühl was head of the jewellery class at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle from 1994 to 2002.
The exhibition is being organised in cooperation with Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen (NL).

18 May - 21 June 2011 in the Villa Bengel

Accompanying the publication "SchmuckDenken", the Department of Gemstone and Jewellery Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Idar-Oberstein is showing a selection of the final theses produced last year for the diploma course and the Master of Arts in Gemstone and Jewellery Design.
The works on display reflect the entire spectrum of the course and show gemstones in their various uses as well as shedding light on the concept of jewellery, from unique pieces to series.

17 May and 18 May 2011 at the University of Applied Sciences

Gemma Draper graduated from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, USA, in 2009 with a Master of Fine Arts. This degree was preceded by a BA in Philosophy and a degree in Plastic Arts and Design. Her work deals with the subject of jewellery in an unusual way. Gemma Draper makes the uncertainty inherent in every research process the subject of her work. Based on clear questions, the apparent boundaries are questioned and expanded in the working process with the concrete material.

17 May - 21 June 2011 at the University of Applied Sciences

Highlights of the contemporary art of gemstone design in a selection that has never been seen before can be seen in the museum of Idar-Oberstein's twin town Turnov. In addition to precious objects that follow a classical aesthetic, the most important Idar-Oberstein "innovators" who brought gemstone design into the art of the 20th century are being brought together in an exhibition for the first time.
On display are works from the workshops of Gebr. Henn, Heinz Postler, Bernd Munsteiner, Tom and Jutta Munsteiner, Dieter Lorenz and graduates of the gemstone and jewellery design course at Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences such as Claudia Adam, Jörg Stoffel and others.

28 April - 30 June 2011 at the Muzeum Turnov (Cz)

Beppe Kessler is a versatile artist with a great sensitivity in her handling of materials and textures. The virtuoso alternation between the precious and the monumental, which is characteristic of her work, is demonstrated by both her jewellery and her paintings - which are unfortunately all too often exhibited separately. Following the presentation at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, Beppe Kessler's current jewellery exhibition "La Condition Humaine" at the Bengelstiftung will be complemented by a selection of paintings.
This exhibition is organised in cooperation with the mobile gallery aurum, Frankfurt.

5 April - 10 May 2011 at Villa Bengel

Every year, the graduation projects from the gemstone and jewellery design department are presented at Inhorgenta in Munich. This year, a selection of the diploma theses of Sabine Conrad, Marcella Ferretti, Lisa Kröber, Silke Rehermann and Antje Stolz as well as Sachiyo Higaki's Master of Arts will be on display in Hall C2 at Stand 546/647.

25 - 28 February 2011, Munich Trade Fair Centre

The 13th Erfurt Jewellery Symposium from 16 to 31 July 2010

Under the theme "Luther. The Awakening" was the theme of the 13th Erfurt Jewellery Symposium organised by the Verband Bildender Künstler Thüringen e.V. (Association of Visual Artists of Thuringia). 10 jewellery artists from 4 countries were inspired by the young Luther's memorable pilgrimage to Rome, which marked the beginning of the reformer's theological awakening.
The exhibition shows the symposium contributions by Volker Atrops (D), Iris Bodemer (D), Daniela Boieri (I), Heike Gruber (D), Beate Klockmann (NL), Federica Pallaver (I), Mandy Rasch (D), Philip Sajet (NL), Dana Seachuga (IL), Fabrizio Tridenti (I).

27 January - 27 February 2011 at Villa Bengel

The 13th Erfurt Jewellery Symposium from 16 to 31 July 2010

Under the theme "Luther. The Awakening" was the theme of the 13th Erfurt Jewellery Symposium organised by the Verband Bildender Künstler Thüringen e.V. (Association of Visual Artists of Thuringia). 10 jewellery artists from 4 countries were inspired by the young Luther's memorable pilgrimage to Rome, which marked the beginning of the reformer's theological awakening.
The exhibition shows the symposium contributions by Volker Atrops (D), Iris Bodemer (D), Daniela Boieri (I), Heike Gruber (D), Beate Klockmann (NL), Federica Pallaver (I), Mandy Rasch (D), Philip Sajet (NL), Dana Seachuga (IL), Fabrizio Tridenti (I).

27 January - 27 February 2011 at Villa Bengel

The "New Traditional Jewellery" competition is organised parallel to the only Dutch public jewellery fair "SIERAAD". Jewellery artists from all over the world use this new platform to give shape to their own vision. The travelling exhibition shown here combines works from the 2010 competition with the theme "True Colors" with the best of the previous competitions and thus offers an overview of developments in the field of contemporary jewellery in the new millennium. The organisers of New Traditional Jewellery (Foundation Art in Business) have set themselves the goal of increasing knowledge and appreciation of the art of jewellery among entrepreneurs, private individuals and public institutions. www.newtraditionaljewellery.com

14 December 2010 to 15 January 2011 at Villa Bengel

Ulo Florack creates his world intuitively - on canvas as well as in his jewellery works. It is figurative and naturally colourful. Mysterious and fantastical beings - sometimes half human, half animal or mythical creature - as well as magical inscriptions play a major role in the work of the Augsburg artist. On closer inspection, his works, which initially appear archaic, reveal an outstanding quality of craftsmanship and the metaphors present are just as subtle - Florack is a versatile artist who is difficult to categorise. During an artist-in-residence stay, he has now expanded his range of materials to include precious stones, whose colourfulness almost naturally fits into his jewellery.

Opening 9 November 2010 at 18:00 in the Villa Bengel

24 years of Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences - high time to take stock. A large retrospective was organised by the GdF (Society of Friends of the University of Applied Sciences in Idar-Oberstein). A jury of graduates from all generations, chaired by Kristina Balzer (mobile gallery Aurum - Frankfurt), has compiled a representative selection of graduation projects and the subsequent oeuvre. The exhibition documents not only the level of academic achievement, but also the marketability and innovative strength of the graduates. www.fh-trier.de/go/gdf

Opening 30.09.2010 at 20:00 in the Villa Bengel

Idar-Oberstein costume jewellery from the golden years of the economic miracle

The years of the economic miracle once again made Idar-Oberstein a centre of European costume jewellery that was present on all the world's markets. Even though the town only began to produce its own major jewellery brands, production was characterised by a high degree of fashionable topicality. The collections of companies such as Max Ziemer, Walter Fischer and Klein & Quenzer were also fascinating due to their proximity to the artistic trends of the era, which were often adapted in surprisingly original ways.

20 September - 09 October 2010 in the branch of the Kreissparkasse Oberstein

Student works from the Hanau State Academy of Drawing.
The exhibition "Straw to Gold" at the Hanau State Academy of Drawing presents jewellery, utensils and accessories, student research projects and graduation projects from the years 2007-2010. Once again, this exhibition documents the exceptional level of achievement that the vocational college and technical college for jewellery, utensils and accessories occupy among training and further education institutions for design throughout Germany.
The traditional drawing academy and the city of Hanau as a jewellery and silverware city thus prove to be the ideal breeding ground for the "Brüder Grimm Berufsakademie für Design", the first of its kind in Germany, which will soon be opening in Hanau.

01 September - 28 September in the Villa Bengel

Current author jewellery from France

In jewellery, France has a greater tradition of luxury and big brands than almost any other country. Nevertheless, for some years now there has been a growing, very lively community of contemporary jewellery artists who have found a connection to the development trends of the international jewellery scene at a high level. The travelling exhibition, curated by French artists themselves, convincingly locates positions between art, design and traditional craftsmanship and, using the example of 17 French jewellery artists, presents an overall view of current positions for the first time.

23 June - 15 August 2010 at the Villa Bengel

After studying and then teaching at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, Göttingen-born Iris Eichenberg has been working as a professor of metal design in Cranbrook (USA) since 2007. The intuitive search for content and meaning is palpable in each of her works. Her abstract works do not remain hermetically self-referential but relate to the particularities and realities of life.

This exhibition is part of the "SchmuckDenken 6" symposium.

18 May - 26 June 2010 at Villa Bengel

The jewellery exhibition is being presented as part of this year's SchmuckDenken theme "Globalisation". It is an initiative of the Israeli jewellery designer Dana Hakim and the media designer Yosef Bercovich. Using the example of the Middle East as a focal point and its global impact on issues such as immigration, human rights, orientalism, conflicts, coexistence, economy and peace, it documents the influence of these issues on the relationship between East and West. "A relationship with direct consequences for our own reality" (Hakim and Bercovich).

More information at: www.icarealot.me

This exhibition is part of the symposium "SchmuckDenken 6".

18 May - 10 June 2010 at the University of Applied Sciences

1st thesis of the Master's degree course in Gemstone and Jewellery Design

Although the JewelleryThinking topic of "globalisation" is not the subject of the first Master's thesis at the Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences, it nevertheless plays a prominent role in the work of Javier Moreno Frias, which is clearly demonstrated by his career to date alone: The Catalan first learnt goldsmithing in Barcelona, completed his Bachelor's degree in Finland and is now the first Master's student to graduate in Idar-Oberstein. Several years spent abroad, in particular getting to know the culture and language of each country, have undoubtedly contributed to the artist's signature style.

The setting of the "SchmuckDenken 6" symposium is therefore particularly appropriate for this exhibition.

18 May - 1 June 2010 at the University of Applied Sciences

Amulets, jewellery and means of payment made of agate

The collections of the traditional Idar-Oberstein companies Gebr. Görlitz and Gebr. Wild provide a deep insight into the global economic relations of the colonial era from the middle of the 19th century. Idar companies refined agate imported from Brazil using sophisticated colouring techniques. Until the second half of the 20th century, large quantities of amulets, jewellery and means of payment cut according to African patterns were imported to Sudan and Ethiopia, but also to West Africa.

This exhibition is part of the "SchmuckDenken 6" symposium.

11 May - 10 June 2010 at the German Gemstone Museum, Idar

Presentation of the diploma thesis by Deborah Rudolph

The thesis focusses on a series of interviews on the subject of "stone". Eight different "stone professionals" talk about their experiences with stone and its fascination.

These are questions that do not always demand a clear answer, but rather reflect the emotions surrounding the topic of "stone". The series of interviews is accompanied by pieces of jewellery that have been created to answer the questions but also invite you to dream. On display will be Deborah Rudolph's diploma thesis from this year at the Department of Gemstone and Jewellery Design in Idar-Oberstein.

This exhibition is part of the "SchmuckDenken 6" symposium.

4 May - 27 May 2010 in the branch of the Kreissparkasse Idar

Artists in Residence of the Jakob Bengel Foundation

The exhibition shows the artistic positions of two Portuguese scholarship holders of the Jakob Bengel Foundation in recent years. Claudia Silveira Oliveira's work is mainly inspired by how we deal with our outward appearance, which is determined by rules. She blurs the boundaries between jewellery and clothing in order to highlight and question these rules. Leonor Hipolito will present a selection from the 3 series Lab, überstein and Gaia, created since 2008 - series that deal intensively with the direct handling of the material (precious) stone.

7 April to 9 May 2010 at Villa Bengel

The exhibition project shows works by students from recent years and reflects the current level of achievement at the Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences. This survey of the fields of gemstone, jewellery and sculpture is an impressive prelude to the new Master's degree course. The high artistic quality of the works speaks for itself as well as for the programme and the quality of the teaching. This is the final exhibition of a 3-year exhibition cycle in which over 250 pieces of jewellery by more than 50 students and graduates of the Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences were presented at 7 locations.

The exhibition is accompanied by a Catalogue.

01 December 2009 - 21 January 2010 at Villa Bengel

In 2003, Donald Friedlich, by then already one of the most prominent American jewellery artists, discovered glass as his most important artistic material. Since then, he has created a large number of jewellery works made of glass that are captivating in their clarity and formal rigour. The transparent and translucent material prompted him to title his series "Site adaptive": Works that not only work on their own, but also focus like a magnifying glass on the textile fabric on which the piece of jewellery is worn, bringing it to the fore in its "adaptive" structures.

13 October - 15 November 2009 at Villa Bengel

An unusual jewellery project will be presented in Idar-Oberstein at INTERGEM 2009: "The selection of ..."

For over 10 years, Galerie Marzee (Nijmegen, NL) has commissioned large-format portraits of women wearing jewellery selected from Marzee's gallery collection. We are showing a selection of 250 of these portraits in the centre of Idar-Oberstein. 25 portraits and the jewellery worn in the picture will be exhibited in parallel at Villa Bengel. The 225 portrait photos form a jewellery route through Idar-Oberstein in many (display) windows. More project information + picture route at: www.nsaio.de/auswahl.
The exhibition is a project as part of "30 years of Galerie Marzee".

01 October - 10 October 2009 in the Villa Bengel and Idar-Oberstein town centre

The Lautenbach Collection

The "Klaus Lautenbach Collection" comprises around 850 items from the historical production of the Oberstein-based company Gebr. The objects, most of which were created between 1898 and 1938, are so-called gallantry items: Accessories for elegant ladies and gentlemen such as evening bags, powder compacts and cigarette cases made of tombac with elaborately embossed, lacquered or enamelled surfaces. In addition, writing pads, lighters and other objects for sophisticated everyday use. In addition to watch chains and costume jewellery, the product range of "gallantry goods" formed an important branch of production in the Oberstein metal goods industry.

04 September - 25 September 2009 at the Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, Platz auf der Idar

"When I make my jewellery, it feels like I have a plane ticket in my pocket that I don't know where it's going. But at the same time, I have a goal. The end result should be a damn good piece of jewellery. I'm constantly trying to invent work processes that I can't control, I try to let things happen, I'm spontaneous and attentive, I follow both my instinct and my experience. This process of not knowing, not wanting, just playing, being free, a state without intentions, by chance.... and suddenly: excitement and nervousness.... and then recognising the point at which I have to take control again, that's a balancing act."

30 June - 31 July 2009 at Villa Bengel

Paul Derrez' jewellery is characterised by a consistent use of materials and its "democratic character": "Jewellery is not there to complete harmony. I find it more exciting when things also contain a reference to the discrepancy or brutalisation of society." (Derrez)

The exhibition shows a cross-section of his work, from the more aesthetic and material-orientated early works to his everyday objects and his homoerotic cross- and phallus-shaped works from the "Risky Bussiness" collection.

He has been running the RA Gallery in Amsterdam for almost 30 years.

19 May - 26 June 2009 at Villa Bengel

"assignments - post from heaven"

"I am often asked to integrate a gem of jewellery or a beautiful heirloom into a "memento mori" piece of jewellery to protect it from gathering dust. Heirlooms often do not meet the taste of the heir. But there are different motives for wearing the heirloom nonetheless: above all because of a lasting strong emotional relationship between the heir and the deceased. I make this relationship the subject of my artistic design; my work depicts the multi-faceted network of relationships." The exhibition shows a cross-section of commissioned works under the title "Assignments - Post from heaven". More information at www.truikeverdegaal.com (Assignments)

18 May - 26 June 2009 Gemstone and Jewellery Design course at Trier University of Applied Sciences, Idar-Oberstein

In 2008, a project took place at the Birmingham College of Jewellery (UK) in which the best retired master craftsmen (The Heroes) were given the opportunity to pass on their knowledge and skills to the younger generation of artists. However, the project was not limited to simply reproducing traditional techniques, but challenged the young artists to interpret the skills of the "Heroes" in their own way and thus create completely new works. The project was accompanied by the book "HEROES". The large-format catalogue photos will be exhibited in the Bengel Industrial Monument in Idar-Oberstein, starting on International Monument Day on 17 May 2009.

An introductory lecture on the project will be given at the opening.

The exhibition is part of the Rhineland-Palatinate Summer of Culture under the motto "Rule Britannia".

17 May - 26 June 2009, Bengel Industrial Monument

Horror Vacui

The 9th members' exhibition of the Forum for Jewellery and Design encouraged 85 participants to artistically capture the horror of emptiness. The result is an extremely vital and multi-layered collection of artistic works that do not perceive the empty space, the vacuum, as a place of rigid horror, but of creative challenge and art, in which "a good portion of existential insecurity" can be found, "but also a socio-cultural model for a baroque, cosmopolitan joy in lustfully trying out ever new roles and possible life dreams" blossoms. (Sabine Müller, exhibition catalogue)

07 April - 10 May 2009 in the Villa Bengel

The ambiguity in the title of the special gemstone show is part of the programme at the design colleges in Idar-Oberstein and Lappeenranta. The students of the two universities enrich and confront the already rich and long gemstone tradition with individuality and contemporary food for thought. A diverse selection of semester and final year projects will be shown in a fresh presentation jointly conceived by students from the two universities. Not only will precious stones be reinterpreted, but the concept of stone will also be defined as broadly as possible, as the title "Stone Matters" describes the gemstone as an object of value in the sense of an intellectual concept of the manufacturer and its extraverted role expectations of the wearer.

18 - 21 February 2009 at Inhorgenta Europe 2009 in Munich

Bernd Munsteiner was the first contemporary artist to embark on a search for the aura of crystal. For more than forty years, he has been cutting transparent stones in particular into pictures, objects and sculptures. They allow the viewer a glimpse into the magical landscapes inside the crystal, expanding its inner and outer visual spaces into projection surfaces of the psychic.

18 - 21 February 2009 at the Inhorgenta Europe 2009 in Munich

"Various unfathomable grey worlds exist in the moonlight. They are silent. I am attracted to the grey nuances of colour that can be found in the shadows. I am interested in the colour tones of plants. The green colour of plants is mysterious. Green is the colour of an illusion and only shows itself as long as there is life. In the moonlight you can distinguish shades of grey of unfathomable depth. I am equally attracted to the flowers and grasses of a meadow. Their different shapes and their perfection surprise me. For whom and for what is this beauty? In the moonlight, we can share our lives with nature." (Mari Ishikawa)

29 January to 29 March 2009, Villa Bengel

Gemstone and Jewellery Design course at Trier University of Applied Sciences

The exhibition "Steenrijk - Steinreich" shows works by students of the Gemstone and Jewellery Design course at Trier University of Applied Sciences and the Instituut voor Kunst en Ambacht (IKA).
The project came about following a visit by representatives of the Belgian school Edelsmeedkunst-Juweelontwerp of the IKA to the Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences in December 2008.
The intensive exploration of the theme of "stone" in the broadest sense is the starting point for the works on display. The focus is on the artistic field.

10 January - 08 February 2009 at the Cultuurzentrum Mechelen, Belgium

Eija Mustonen and Helena Lehtinen are Finnish jewellery artists who regularly exhibit together. Both teach at the South Carelia Polytechnic in Lappeenranta. Mustonen says about her work: "The deep connection to my origins and surroundings is the starting point of my working process - chaos and order as in the nature around us. Space is not only a physical factor, but above all a psychological one." This exhibition is part of the international university co-operation Idar-Oberstein - Lappeenranta.

17 December 2008 - 25 January 2009 in the Villa Bengel

Eija Mustonen and Helena Lehtinen are Finnish jewellery artists who regularly exhibit together. Both teach at the South Carelia Polytechnic in Lappeenranta. Mustonen says about her work: "The deep connection to my origins and surroundings is the starting point of my working process - chaos and order as in the nature around us. Space is not only a physical factor, but above all a psychological one." This exhibition is part of the international university co-operation Idar-Oberstein - Lappeenranta.

17 December 2008 - 25 January 2009 in the Villa Bengel

Opening 16.12.2008 18:00 at the FH, Vollmersbachstraße 53a, Idar-Oberstein

After nsaio3 was a guest in Lappeenranta last summer, the students of the Lappeenranta University of Art and Design are now exhibiting at the local University of Applied Sciences. The cooperation between the two institutions is predestined, as they are the only universities in the world that have gemstones as the main theme of their programme.

Opening 15.12.2008 19:00 in the counter hall of the Kreissparkasse in Idar, Hauptstraße 80, Idar-Oberstein

Katharina Vanselow completed her degree in gemstone and jewellery design in 2008. The exhibition presents an overview of her work from the last two semesters, during which she worked intensively on cuts in collaboration with a local company. The passionate work on faceting mostly transparent stones has led to fascinating results that are usually incomprehensible at first glance. Katharina Vanselow's cuts clearly demonstrate the potential offered by exploring and testing the limits of this material.

The exhibition "00/07" presents outstanding works of jewellery and silverware from the years 2000 to 2007. The approximately 50 works are the results of courses in the design rooms and workshops of the Hanau State Academy of Drawing. Many of the exhibited pieces of jewellery are prize-winners and in some cases winners in international design competitions.

"Bettina's jewellery may put you in a melancholy mood - but this is not due to the jewellery itself, because it is beautiful memories, the joy of collecting or other small moments of happiness that are triggered. The melancholy stems from the knowledge that such moments cannot usually be captured" (Karen Pontoppidan).
Tarja Tuupanen studied in Lappeenranta (FIN) - the only other European university specialising in gemstones. "I love the material gemstone because of its versatility and challenging nature. I am always interested in how people are different and how they are similar." (Tarja Tuupanen)

The works in the second of four duo exhibitions this year fit together exceptionally well, although both artists have completely different roots. Iris Bodemer (*1970, Paderborn) studied in Pforzheim and Amsterdam, Manuel Vilhena (*1967, Lisbon) trained as a goldsmith in his home town and studied jewellery at the Royal College in London. What the two have in common is an incredibly fine feel for the use of form, colour and material. In 2007, they both gave a lecture at SchmuckDenken, where the idea was born to exhibit their work side by side at Villa Bengel.

Bakker and van Leersum are undoubtedly among the icons of contemporary jewellery. These two designers were at the forefront in the 1980s, when the search for new values in jewellery was inexorably driven forward in Europe. "Form follows function" and the democratisation of jewellery, which still characterises the scene today, were the concerns of the two artists, whose work purposefully shifted and questioned the boundaries between art, craftsmanship and design.

This exhibition was made possible by the co-operation with "Stedelijk Museum' s-Hertogenbosch" and Galerie Ra in Amsterdam.

19 May - 24 June 2008, Gemstone and Jewellery Design course at Trier University of Applied Sciences in Idar-Oberstein

The English jewellery artist Lin Cheung studied at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art in London. Lin Cheung will be a guest at Schmuck-Denken 4 this year with an exhibition and a lecture. This illustrates that her work deals with the subject of jewellery in an extraordinarily intensive conceptual form. In recent years, she has increasingly devoted herself to the theoretical aspects of jewellery and its social components. The theoretical exploration of these aspects is reflected in her pieces with remarkable clarity. Her works have received numerous awards and are represented in many public collections.

16 May - 06 June 2008 at the Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, Platz auf der Idar.

For almost 100 years from 1860, the district of Oberstein was one of the European centres for costume jewellery. Alongside Pforzheim, Hanau and Schwäbisch Gmünd, a flourishing jewellery production industry also developed on the Nahe. Many of these companies had initially acquired their technical expertise in the watch chain industry and expanded their range with costume jewellery. This jewellery, which spread far beyond Germany's borders, has almost fallen into oblivion today and is at best still associated with Idar-Oberstein by experts. The exhibition provides an overview of this lost era for the first time.

at the German Gemstone Museum

Bernd Munsteiner was the first contemporary artist to embark on a search for the aura of crystal. For more than forty years, he has been cutting transparent stones in particular into pictures, objects and sculptures. They allow the viewer a glimpse into the magical landscapes inside the crystal, expanding its inner and outer visual spaces into projection surfaces of the psychic.

The Danish jewellery artist Karen Pontoppidan (*1968 in Kerteminde, Denmark) studied at the Academy of Arts in Munich and now teaches at the Konstfack in Stockholm, Sweden. She says of her work: "More than in any other art form, jewellery is connected to people as such. When I put up a painting or sculpture at home, only a few people see it. Wearing jewellery generates a different situation, because everyone who meets me sees it and "reads" what the jewellery says about me. Jewellery is very personal".

Download of the Invitiation

"5 grams - no more and no less". Forty students from the Hanau State Academy of Drawing faced up to this challenge. The participants had seven months to produce a piece of jewellery or object weighing exactly five grams from materials of their choice. The results of the competition initiated by Ilona Stepping are now being presented in Idar-Oberstein after their first stop at the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt.

Guest exhibition at the FH Trier

Following the "Corpus" exhibition in 2006, jewellery from France is once again being presented: Sophie Hanagarth is one of the most important contemporary French jewellery artists. Her works are primarily concerned with the relationship to the body and an awareness of physicality through jewellery. This central jewellery theme is explored with surprising ease. Sophie Hanagarth leads the jewellery class in Strasbourg.

The Munich jewellery artist Marianne Schliwinski (born in 1944) has also made a name for herself as a photographer since the 1980s. The exhibition portrays the versatile artist with jewellery and new photographic works from the cycle "inside - outside".

www.marianne-schliwinski.de

18 December 2007 - 20 January 2008 at Villa Bengel

Manfred Nisslmüller, regarded by many as the "enfant terrible" of the jewellery scene, conducts fundamental research into jewellery. In his artistic work, he poses the question of what is jewellery and what is adornment. The exhibition he has created for the rooms of Villa Bengel encourages viewers to question and discover their own ideas of jewellery.

"For Manfred Nisslmüller, jewellery is not primarily an object to be shaped. Nisslmüller has been conducting basic research for decades and has expanded the concept of jewellery by several dimensions, also in his engagement with the fine arts.  In addition to actual pieces of jewellery, since 1976 he has increasingly created works in the form of texts and pictures, as well as surprising reinterpretations of classic jewellery objects. Nisslmüller has thus created a new category of works that previously did not exist in jewellery: jewellery."

13 November - 09 December 2007 in the Villa Bengel

After many years of contact with Idar-Oberstein, the Dutch jewellery artist Philip Sajet decided to create an entire collection of necklaces made entirely from precious stones. The resulting works are characterised by his uncompromising and independent approach to the raw material "gemstone". This exhibition presents a selection of the works created to date, making the development of the gemstone medium in Sajet's oeuvre transparent.

02 October - 04 November 2007 in the Villa Bengel

In February 2007, the jewellery academy ESAD in Porto/Portugal invited eight jewellery artists to a one-week symposium that uses the skin of the cork oak as the starting material for jewellery. The participants are Carla Cantiajo, Portugal, Eija Mustonen, Finland, Kadri Mälk, Estonia, Leonor Hipólito, Portugal, Manuel Vilhena, Portugal, Ramon Puig, Spain, Pedro Sequeira, Portugal and Theo Smeets, Netherlands.  After the initial exhibition in Porto, the exhibition will be shown at Villa Bengel in Idar-Oberstein. Amsterdam, Tallinn, Helsinki and Barcelona are also on the programme.

23 July - 31 August 2007 at the Villa Bengel

In a project led by Kadri Mälk and Manfred Bischoff in 2005, students from "Alchimia" (Florence) and the Academy of Arts (Tallinn) asked themselves the question "What lies behind the visible, what lies between evening and night, between night and morning, between light and shadow? What is real, what is illusion?"

22 May - 06 July 2007 at the Bengel Industrial Monument

Since May 2006, the historic "Jakob Bengel watch chain and costume jewellery factory" has been inviting jewellery artists to spend several weeks working in Idar-Oberstein. The exhibition shows short artistic portraits of the previous scholarship holders Beate Klockmann, Kathleen Fink, Vera Siemund, Monika Brugger, Annette Ehinger, Jantje Fleischhut, Luzia Vogt, Bety Majernikova, Monika Strasser, Karin Seufert, Beate Eismann, Silke Trekel, Julie Mollenhauer.

22 May - 06 July 2007 in the gemstone and jewellery design course at the FH Trier in Idar-Oberstein

The Swiss Bernhard Schobinger (born 1946 in Zurich) is regarded as one of the "most expressive, critical and artistically inspired jewellery artists of the present day" (Florian Hufnagel). He also radically and uncompromisingly scrutinises materials from the world of everyday life and waste for their aesthetic qualities and messages, transforming them into jewellery.

23 May - 06 July 2007 at the Villa Bengel

Like no other jewellery artist from the former socialist part of Europe, Anton Cepka (born in 1935) has gained great recognition in the West since the 1960s with his constructive-geometric design language and has influenced the international jewellery scene.

This exhibition was made possible by a co-operation with the Slovak National Gallery Bratislava, Galerie Spektrum - Munich and Peter Skubic.

04 April - 20 May 2007 in the Villa Bengel

CHOICE throws more than a representative spotlight on the current German jewellery scene. Taking the style-defining artist personalities as its starting point, the exhibition convincingly traces the main strands of development, mutual influences and debates in contemporary German jewellery. CHOICE presents 30 of the most prominent German jewellery artists and provides an insight into recent German jewellery history.

21 January - 01 April 2007 at the Villa Bengel

Artists in Residence 2006 of the FH Trier and the Jakob Bengel Foundation, Idar-Oberstein

The three former fellow students at Burg Giebichenstein in Halle/Saale, now freelance jewellery artists in Halle, Amsterdam and Hamburg, document the results of their studies during their stay at the Jakob Bengel Foundation in summer 2006 in the exhibition, combined with a brief insight into their very different work.

( 15 October - 12 November 2006 )

Galerie Marzee in Nijmegen, Netherlands, the largest jewellery gallery in Europe, presents a large collection of the best graduation works from over 20 jewellery colleges worldwide every year. A selection of the works can be seen in Idar-Oberstein. The Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences faces up to the comparison!

( 03 September - 08 October 2006 )

Herman Hermsen has been one of the elite jewellery artists for more than 20 years. Born in 1953 in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, he initially studied at the "Akademie voor Beeldende Kunsten" in Arnhem, to which he returned as a professor after 5 years of teaching at the "Hogeschool voor de kunsten" in Utrecht. Since 1992 he has been working as a professor for product design and jewellery design at the University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf.

(02 August - 31 August 2006)

5 universities exhibit.

How good is the design quality of the Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences? The exhibition allows a direct comparison: the universities from Tallinn/Estonia, Porto/Portugal, Birmingham/United Kingdom, Lodz/Poland, Florence/Italy and Idar-Oberstein are exhibiting under the multi-layered title "Chroma".

(30 June - 30 July 2006)

A group of seven jewellery artists from the Estonian Academy of Arts has been working under the mysterious-sounding name of "öhuLoss" since 1999 around Kadri Mälk, head of the jewellery course. öhuLoss" has made a name for itself on the international jewellery scene with sensational exhibition projects in the Netherlands, Rakvere, Barcelona, Cologne, Copenhagen and Lisbon, staging their jewellery as a sensual art experience that appeals to emotions and reason in equal measure. "öhuLoss" unites seven autonomous artistic personalities in a simultaneously very intimate joint project, whose individual contemporary artistic languages are unmistakably fuelled by the spiritual sources of Estonian national culture. The participants are Kadri Mälk, Villu Plink, Katrin Sipelgas, Eve Margus-Villems, Kristiina Laurits, Piret Hirv and Tanel Veenre.

(24 May - 25 July 2006)

For years, this group of French jewellery artists has been exploring the philosophical content of the complex relationship between artist, jewellery, wearer and viewer in collaborative projects. This artistic research seeks inspiration in collaboration with humanities scholars. The results are sensational exhibitions and publications. In 2006, Corpus went in search of the concept of time and its presence in artistic work.

(23 May - 30 June 2006)

Sending and receiving messages through jewellery is only possible in a social context. Suska Mackert examines the social and performative facets, the psychology of wearing and perceiving jewellery. By using a variety of media, she draws attention to the fact that the complex network of relationships between jewellery maker, wearer and viewer must be reflected not only from the perspective of the concrete experience, but also against the backdrop of the images of jewellery disseminated by the media.

This exhibition accompanies "SchmuckDenken II" and takes place in the Gemstone and Jewellery Design course at Trier University of Applied Sciences in Idar-Oberstein.

21 May - 09 July 2006 

The collection of the Turnov technical school

Turnov, the centre of Bohemian garnet, blossomed into a European centre for garnet jewellery in the Austrian monarchy in the 19th century, contributing its own design statements to the world of Viennese jewellery aesthetics. The representative exhibition shows pieces of jewellery, utensils and objects created between 1890 and 1940.

(19 May - 07 July 2006 at the Kreissparkasse Idar-Oberstein)

A project by Jivan Astfalck with students from Birmingham and Idar-Oberstein

Jivan Astfalck investigates the influence of social and cultural themes on jewellery design. Integrated into the MYTH an MEANING project, the installation LIFELINES was created, in which the dialogue between personal, almost private-secret and collective symbolism and the tension between myth-making and historical-biographical reappraisal emerges.

(02 April - 14 May 2006)

University of Applied Sciences Bratislava/FH Idar-Oberstein

There is a long-standing relationship between the two jewellery universities. "Ex Change" documents the work of graduates of the exchange programme. The works are the results of the semesters abroad supplemented by extracts from subsequent semesters and diploma theses.

Participants: Bety Majernikova, Vincent Durbak, Christina Hroncekova (Bratislava) and Doris Kleinz, Steffi Klemp, Hester Vonk Noordegraaf, Paul de Haas (Idar-Oberstein) as well as Steffi Kalina, Julia Bocola, Peggy Noack (students).

(02 February - 26 February)

Body Politics are two artists working as a team who transform the conflict of their own "I" in a superficial reality flooded with information into the realm of body jewellery. By examining the invisible part of their own identity, they aim to present the essential, the hidden in a new form and materiality worn on and with the body.

www.body-politics.de