2022-04-07

30^th International Jewellery Competition „Touch” – qualified artists

The debates of the jury of the 30^th International Jewellery Competition "Touch", the main event of the Legnica Silver Festival, took place between 30-31.03.2022. The jury evaluated 426 works by 240 artists from 30 countries, qualifying works by 51 artists from 13 countries for the main exhibition. The list of qualified artists can be found here. The names of the winners will be announced on the 14^th of May 2022 during the culmination of the Festival at the Gallery of Art in Legnica.

The Gallery of Art in Legnica is holding the International Jewellery Competition every year, supporting and promoting the most recent achievements in contemporary jewellery design. The competition is dedicated to jewellery artists. Each year, it is held under a different theme corresponding to the current problems of the modern world, considered from the social, cultural, sociological, and everyday anthropological perspective. This year's competition theme was TOUCH - a sense associated with jewellery, which - in the context of a global pandemic and escalation of military conflicts - brings associations with warmth and intimacy, as well as a sense of threat and fear. More than 400 works were sent to Legnica - this year's theme inspired a wide range of artists to creative expression.

The works were selected by a jury including:

Sofia Björkman (Sweden) – goldsmith artist and curator who runs the PLATINA gallery and jewelry studio. She exhibits internationally, collaborates with artists, curators, galleries, museums and institutions worldwide, gives lectures and workshops, and is a board member of the international organization AJF - Art Jewellery Forum, KRO Stockholm and Stockholms Hantverksförening;

Miroslav Cogan (Czech Republic) – theorist and art historian, graduate of Masaryk University in Brno, curator of fine art and jewellery collections at the Museum of Bohemian Paradise and curator of international jewellery symposia in Turnov, author of numerous publications on the goldsmith's art;

Sławomir Fijałkowski (Poland) – professor, long-time juror of the Legnica Competition, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Design at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, specialist in product and jewellery design, participant, organizer and curator of many jewellery and design exhibitions;

Nastya Ivlieva (Russia/Italy) – editor of the digital magazine on contemporary goldsmithing art LOST IN JEWELS, specialist and consultant in design art and fashion. Her storytelling  platform features carefully curated fine, art and vintage jewellery in a lifestyle, cultural, historical and social context. She works as jewellery advisor and collaborates with jewellery companies as brand consultant, content editor and strategist;

and

Małgorzata Kalińska (Poland) – doctor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, a goldsmith and painter who has been awarded many times (among others, during last year's edition of the Legnica competition).

Sofia Björkman, chair of the jury, points out:

"the level of the competition is really very high and the works submitted are varied and interesting, which makes it hard to make a choice. Personally, when I look at a piece of work, I wonder where it came from and how the artist was feeling while creating it. I also pay attention to the craftmanship."

Sławomir Fijałkowski adds:

"the level of the competition is high - it is a good review of contemporary design. Many of the works submitted are interpretations of narrative, aspiring to the status of art, as well as typical and non-typical goldsmithing realizations, in which new technologies, materials and ways of working with the function of jewellery, but also classical goldsmithing projects. So it is a good representation of the condition of this kind of design. In addition to the visual side, we also look at the way in which the works - especially the awarded ones - relate to the theme of the competition."

The International Jewellery Competition takes place as a part of the 42nd edition of the Legnica Silver Festival, which is one of the most significant reviews of the latest trends in contemporary designer jewellery, organized by the Gallery of Art in Legnica. This year, the event will feature 13 exhibitions (including: 11 presentations of jewellery), which will be available in 8 locations in the heart of Legnica, as well as exhibition openings, meetings with artists, the seminar "Boundaries of Global Art" and accompanying events. More information about this year’s Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER you will find at Organiser's website.

Source: Legnica Silver Festival