Ward Schrijver – författare

"When I am working with colours, I feel like a painter. When I am working with metal, I feel like a constructor. And when I am working with toys, I feel like a child." (Felieke van der Leest).The work of Dutch jewellery and object artist Felieke van der Leest (born in 1968) expresses the very special affection that she has for animals. With unbridled fantasy she creates pieces that ostentatiously, colourfully and playfully revolve around her little friends. She combines techniques used in textile work, such as crochet, with valuable metals and plastic toy animals. Within the international art jewellery scene she has developed her own special language with which she narrates intelligent and witty stories with her animal protagonists; her pieces inevitably conjure a smile upon the faces of those who view them. Characteristic for Van der Leest is the joy in her work, which is ever present yet sometimes carried off into childhood. Serious themes in her work are also expressed, including environmental protection and human approaches to animals. The current publication comprises jewellery and objects by the renowned artist from 1996 to the present.Text in English, Norwegian and Dutch.

Evert Nijland (b. 1971) is one of the leading jewellery artists of his generation. Trained in the Conceptual Art and Minimalism of the 1990s at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, he developed a flamboyant and exuberant style, which drew on (art-) historical resources yet is thoroughly anchored in the present. A typical characteristic of Nijland is working with a variety of artisans. It enables him to integrate such diverse materials as porcelain, wood, textile or steel into his works. His use of glass in jewellery, in particular, is unparalleled. This publication presents an exciting review in opulent photographs of Evert Nijland's jewellery-making over twenty years. Montages of images are a particular highlight, in which jewellery from works of Western art is superimposed, serving Nijland as both a reference and a source of inspiration.Text in English and Dutch.