Photo credit: Urban Jörén
AUTOR is a story imagined and built by passionate people, who inspire through courage and creativity. We want you to discover all the AUTOR people and let them stimulate you with their story and their creations. Sofia Björkman is a member of the AUTOR Jury since 2016.
Sofia Björkman lives in Stockholm, Sweden. After her MFA degree in 1998 she started PLATINA which opened for public 1999. Since then she has been working as a jewelry artist and curator with all kind of projects that creates scenes for the jewelry field. Platina is a gallery and studio for contemporary Jewellery with around 40 artists on display. Sofia Björkman has produced and curated about 6-10 exhibitions a year; solo and group-exhibitions with national and international jewellery artists and artists connected to the field, also at other spaces and institutions outside the gallery. She regularly has lectures and projects on jewellery and is board member of Art Jewelry Forum and the Swedish Arts and Craft Center.
“What has the bird done?” by Sofia Björkman [Image credit: Urban Jörén]
You are a jewellery artist, collector, curator and a speaker on jewellery art and design. What is jewellery for you?
That is a question I always have to ask myself. When people ask me, my answer very much depends on who is asking. Jewellery can be and do so much. Some argue that the universe can be jewellery and I don’t say they are wrong, but love to discuss it. Often I do mention intimacy when talking about jewellery. Also how the jewellery practice floats between other disciplines interest me much. It makes it disruptive, disorderly but free.
What did you learn as an artist after you became a gallerist?
A lot of course, but to mention some useful things I will say the awareness of how long time things take. For example that I think to sell a piece and/or get it out in the society takes longer time and is more expensive then to make it. I have learnt how important everything around a piece is for the piece, to put artwork in different contexts, in order to understand it. Also, the dialogue between artists and the audience give me understanding how they interpret works differently.
How would you describe the role of the curator in contemporary jewelry?
A curator can be someone who put jewelry in a context, a link between an artist and the society, a person who guides an audience into an artists world, but a curator can also use jewellery as material to talk about an issue.
How do you find the perfect mix of concept, selling and art?
I don’t think there is a perfect mix, but there are many interesting ways of doing it.
In 2016 was the first time you selected works for the AUTOR fair. What are your thoughts on the collections you observed?
There are actually different thoughts on all different collections but to be general, I think there are works that I found personal and unique. I was interested to learn more about the work and the artist behind and I do hope I will able to do so. There were also work that I thought the artists made what they learned to make and I hope they have the courage enough to develop the work in a personal not given way.