New Exhibitions At The National Design & Craft Gallery

Two parallel jewellery exhibitions have opened at the National Design & Craft Gallery in Kilkenny; Rudolf Heltzel: In Precious Metal, a solo exhibition of work by the master goldsmith, and Bounded + Unlimited: Contemporary Jewellery, a group exhibition of Irish and Chinese jewellery.

Rudolf Heltzel: In Precious Metal is a spectacular exhibition of sculptural pendants. Rudolf Heltzel has gained an international reputation for the originality, quality and timeless aesthetic of his craftsmanship with each piece created meticulously by hand using some of the world’s oldest jewellery techniques. This exhibition showcases many of his most ambitious and technically complex designs, presenting pieces selected from his personal archive alongside new work in three of his sculptural pendant collections – Rock Crystal, Tourmaline Butterfly and Druzy.

For Heltzel, jewellery making is part of a living cultural heritage and he takes inspiration from the history, mythology and symbolism of precious metals and stones. He is renowned for pushing to the limits the design and technical skills of precious jewellery making, using traditional techniques to produce a modern aesthetic. Carefully selected unique and extraordinary precious gemstones form the basis of his stunning sculptural designs in 18ct gold, sterling silver and platinum. Settings are carefully designed to show individual stones to their best advantage. His distinctive designs are collectors’ items, with four generations owning and wearing Rudolf Heltzel.

Bounded + Unlimited: Contemporary Jewellery is an exhibition of exceptional jewellery and goldsmithing by four contemporary jewellery artists from Ireland and China. It explores the parallel working practices of these makers across design, techniques and materials from the perspective of differing cultural contexts. The title refers to how the artists are bound by their respective personal and national cultural experiences, yet unlimited in opportunities for communication and understanding through the traditions of their craft.

The two Irish jewellery artists represented are Eimear Conyard, manager of DCCoI’s Jewellery and Goldsmithing Skills & Design Course and a practicing contemporary jewellery artist, and Christopher Heltzel of the long-established and renowned Rudolf Heltzel studio. The jewellery artists from China are Hu Jun, a professor of Jewellery Design at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, and Binyu Chen, a lecturer in jewellery design at the School of Art of Beijing City University. All four are internationally recognised makers and have extensive experience within jewellery and goldsmithing education.

Both exhibitions will run until 18 April 2018. For further details, visit www.ndcg.ie.