Preliminary exhibition programme 2019 13 April through 8 September 2019 | opens on Friday, 12 April, 7 p.m.
Unconfined Horizons – Jewellery from Humboldt’s Travel Routes Born 250 years ago, the scientist Alexander von Humboldt is regarded as one of the last universal geniuses, whose thinking and actions laid many foundations for our modern world view. During the 90 years of his life, this world citizen set out on two major expeditions: through South and Central America, and through Russia as far as the Chinese border. Influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment, he was convinced that people differ from one another only in terms of their education or culture, and that they are all equally destined for freedom. »The horizons of his mind were unconfined,« as the Humboldt expert Ottmar Ette emphasizes. For Humboldt, genuine education was synonymous with being able to perceive the interrelationships between things. Correspondingly, his fields of research were widely diversified. His importance for us in our day and age is due to his keen observation and scientific analyses, wedded to a profoundly humanistic approach. The exhibition will be showcasing a wide variety of artefacts and jewellery created along his travel routes, complemented by texts and illustrations from the scientist’s oeuvre. 13 April through 23 June 2019
Parallel exhibition: »Expedition« | Vocational College for Design, Jewellery and Utensils
Within the context of the »Unconfined Horizons« exhibition, the Vocational College for Design, Jewellery and Utensils at Pforzheim’s Goldsmithing School will be exhibiting new works, inviting visitors to take an excursion of creativity. Taking inspiration from the great explorers of the world and their travels, some 70 students from the three class levels embarked on their own individual expeditions, translating their creative ideas into imaginatively designed objects. Admission € 6, reduced price € 3.50, admission to both the permanent an special exhibition € 8.50 19 October 2019 through March 2020 | opens on Friday, 18 October, 7 p.m.
A Newly Ordered World – Jewellery from the Napoleonic Era Napoleon Bonaparte reorganized the European world in many respects. 2019 will mark the 250th anniversary of his birthday, an occasion that inspired Pforzheim’s Jewellery Museum to organize a special exhibition spotlighting the new kind of jewellery and fashion characteristic of the Napoleonic era. Back then, the Neoclassical »style of the Revolution« and the decorative Empire style spread all over Western Europe well into Russia. The moral concepts developed during the Enlightenment called for an aesthetic inspired by reason, which met the taste of an increasingly powerful, self-confident and educated middle class, and influenced all areas of culture – starting from architecture, painting, furniture, garments and jewellery all the way through to literature and music. The visual arts were expected to stimulate the emergence of an intellectual aristocracy to break with the tradition of hereditary aristocracy. Over the course of Napoleon’s imperial reign, the Empire style unfolded its representative splendour to perfection. Including several pieces created by Chaumet, Napoleon’s court jeweller, the exhibition will also be showcasing jewellery worn in his social environment. Admission € 6, reduced price € 3.50, admission to both the permanent an special exhibition € 8.50 13 July through October 2019 | opens on Friday, 12 July, 7 p.m. Gold and Silver
Jewellery and Vessels Created by Ulla and Martin Kaufmann Permanent exhibition | Modern Collection
Ulla and Martin Kaufmann have been creating jewellery and vessels for almost fifty years now. Their early creations are characterized by abstract floral shapes, later ones by a classically modern formal idiom, and those created in the past few decades reflect their in- depth involvement with the sculptures created by Richard Serra or Eduardo Chillida, for example. They both are gold- and silversmiths, and have been sharing an atelier in Hildesheim since 1970. A hammered metal strip plays a central role in their works, some of which are of unusual design, and whose exteriors, interiors and interstitial spaces always highlight the interplay of form and function. In addition to many other accolades, Ulla and Martin Kaufmann have won the Bavarian State Prize in 2018 for their project entitled »Cubes in Motion«. The exhibition will be providing a representative overview of the couple’s comprehensive oeuvre. 16 europeanbusinessmagazine.com