The State Prize is awarded every three years by the Rhineland-Palatinate Chambers of Crafts and the Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture, and Viticulture. The aim is to highlight the state's craftsmanship and cultural potential and to provide contemporary impetus for the further development of arts and crafts. The prize is endowed with a total of 15,000 euros and was awarded in 2025 to three equal winners: goldsmith and artist Helena Renner (Idar-Oberstein), photographer and model maker Frank Kunert (Boppard), and ceramist Martin Schlotz (Laudert).
The jury praised Renner's work as “critical and poetic at the same time.” The focus is on the award-winning work Progress?, an elaborately crafted piece of jewelry made of hundreds of pearls and silk, which is worn under the belly. With this piece, the artist shows that every body - regardless of social ideals of beauty - deserves to be adorned.
Renner meticulously sewed each bead onto the next by hand. This time-consuming process symbolizes the long road to self-acceptance. “In Progress, Helena Renner combines art, craftsmanship, and body politics - beauty and pain, intimacy and social relevance. Her work shows not only a piece of jewelry, but also an attitude: for more self-love, more openness, more courage,” according to the jury's verdict.
In her artistic practice, Renner works with garments such as shapewear and underwear, which she alters, cuts up, and combines with beads, gemstones, or other materials. In photographic stagings on the body, the objects take on an additional level of reflection. In this way, she questions social beauty norms and their influence on self-perception and the reality of life.
Helena Renner, born in 1990, successfully completed her bachelor's degree at the Idar-Oberstein campus in 2024. In the year she graduated, she received two prestigious awards: the Marzee Graduate Prize from Galerie Marzee (Netherlands) and the Grassipreis from Sparkasse Leipzig. In 2025, she took third place in the BKV Prize awarded by the Bavarian Arts and Crafts Association.
In addition to participating in international jewelry fairs and group exhibitions, she presented her works for the first time in a solo exhibition at Maquis Mami Wata in Mannheim in 2025. At the beginning of the same year, she also opened her own studio in the former Zerfass building in Idar-Oberstein, a location with a long tradition of jewelry design.
For the Idar-Oberstein campus, the award represents a special confirmation of the high artistic and craftsmanship quality of its graduates. “We are extremely pleased about the recognition of Helena Renner's work. Her success shows how strongly the combination of craftsmanship, artistic expression, and social relevance is anchored in our studies,” emphasizes the program director.
The award-winning works, including Progress? by Helena Renner, will be on display in the foyer of the Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz in Mainz until October 10, 2025.
With this state award, Helena Renner joins a long tradition of outstanding craftspeople whose works are recognized far beyond the region. Her career path exemplifies how graduates of the Gemstone and Jewelry Campus set international standards and shape current artistic discourse.
You can find further information about Helena Renner on her Website.
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