2019 was a year full of events and provocations for us and here we are to give you an cumulative insight into the work of the awarded artists at AUTOR. Creativity without limits. Elegance and jewelry design at its best. Emotion and technique combined. Talent and perseverance. Love for beauty and aesthetics, for contemporary jewelry as an art.
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The mirror master and the paradigmatic change of self-image
Prize: AUTOR Award @ CSM London
Winner: Xuan Ma
UNITED KINGDOM โฃ CHINA
Xuan Ma is a London based Chinese jewelry designer. She graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2019 with a Bachelor degree in jewelry design, currently continuing her studies at Royal College of Arts in Masters of Jewelry and Metal course. Her bachelorโs graduate collection Private View explored the human body and its capacity to become jewelry itself.Theย AUTOR Award consists of a free of charge participation in the following edition of AUTOR fair (May, 2020), a full page in the new issue of the magazine and one year promotion in our media channels.
Special thanks to: Caroline Broadhead, Lin Cheung, Giles Last, Maria Militzi
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The underwater universe reflected trough playfulness in jewelry
Prize: AUTOR Award @ Athens Jewelry Week
Winner: Lucie Houdkovรก
CZECH REPUBLIC
Lucie Houdkovรกย is the AUTOR Award winner at Athens Jewelry Week 2019 and also the Public Award winner of this edition, which shows us that AUTOR’s choice has the public seal of approval. Lucie’s spectacular jewelry can be seen and tried at AUTOR Fair, on 9th & 10th of May 2020, in Bucharest, Romania.
“Itโs hard for me to tell where exactly I’m looking for beauty. It can be in nature, in art, in everyday things around us. Something has a beautiful form, something else has a beautiful thought. In my work I try to connect them both. When I create a new piece of jewelry, I always try to make it more beautiful, but beauty can also hide in imperfections and defects.” (Source: AUTOR Interview)
Theย AUTOR Award @ AJW consists of a free of charge participation in the following edition of AUTOR fair (May, 2020) and one year promotion in our media channels.
Special thanks to: Erato Kouloubi and Niki Stylianou
Find out more about Lucie Houdkovรกย and her work here.
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Magnifying Beauty
Prize: AUTOR Award @ JOYA Barcelona
Winner: Valdis Broลพe
LATVIA
Valdis Broลพe is a jewelry artist from Riga. He works with precious materials, combining them with questions and ideas he received from his surroundings. Valdis’s works represent his own search for answers in the unknown world of language – where words are shapes, colors and materials. His winning collection was especially made for JOYA Barcelona Jewellery & Objects Fair and got him the AUTOR Award.
“My first works were made with enamel, as I was very much attracted by this old technique. Jewels and colors let me play with their combinations to satisfy my interest in proportions and form language. With simple forms and other elements I try to make my works live. I am always asking what do other people see and hear in my works. The more associations my works evoke, the better they become. Gradually, my works have become more ascetic. Now I like flat, plain surfaces along with sophisticated hinges and joints.” (Source: klimt02.net)
Theย AUTOR Award @ JOYA Barcelona consists of a free of charge participation in the following edition of AUTOR fair (May, 2020) and one year promotion in our media channels.
Find out more about Valdis Broze and his work here.
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Brooches are like a white canvas
Prize: AUTOR Media Award @ Collectiva Joalharia de Autor
Winner: Sinae Baik
SOUTH KOREA
Sinae Baik is a South Korean jewelry artist, winner of the AUTOR Media Award at Collectiva Joalharia de Autor 2019. She is now a freelance jewelry artist and an instructor at MJC College and at Wonkwang University. Her passion is working with the enamel method, the so-called Art of Fire.ย
“I think brooches are the best. I love to capture stories, to write narratives. I always take pictures and do a lot of sketches before creating a piece. The brooch is like a white canvas that holds those records. And when someone is wearing my jewelry, it seems as if I had exhibited a painting in a museum (…) Some may say that I am a cautious person. Ironically, my motto is Que Sera, Sera. This motto gives me that momentum. When I’m too cautious, when my work slows down, when I’m in a difficult situation, Que Sera, Sera is like a magic spell. ” (Source: AUTOR Interview)
Theย AUTOR Award @ Collectiva Joalharia de Autor it is a new type of award which consists of a one year promotion in our media channels.
Find out more about Sinae Baik and her work here.
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Three Women Ring: Woman-Power trough jewelry
Prize: AUTOR Award @ Venice Design Week
Winner: Yael Friedman
ISRAEL
Yael Friedman is a jewelry designer working in her self-maintained studio in Israel. In the last 25 years, Yael has been designing contemporary jewelry. Her work was displayed in galleries worldwide. Her winning piece at Venice Design Week is the Three Women Ring, the continuation of her research of human body and relations.
The ring is combined of three Brass women figurines that the wearer needs to assemble. The act of assemblage symbolizes the relationship between three generations. The complexity of these relations is expressed through the connection of three individual figurines into one cohesive whole, resulting in a tight bond with the strength to withstand pressure from both inside and out.
Theย AUTOR Award @ Venice Design Week consists of a free of charge participation in the following edition of AUTOR fair (May, 2020) and one year promotion in our media channels.
Find out more about Yael Friedman and her work here.