The theme of this year's competition refers to relationships as the foundation of existence, an intrinsic element of life, permeating every dimension of it. And to our experiences of being in the world, which are co-created by interpersonal relationships, relations between man and nature, man and technology, the individual and the collective, as well as the deep, often unconscious links between the past and the present.
Record attendance
For this year's competition, 250 participants from 34 countries submitted 365 works that are their personal reflections on relationships. The works submitted to the competition reflect both traditional and avant-garde approaches to design, in both cases highlighting the potential of amber as a means of artistic expression and a means of social communication.
Many artists focused on human relationships, emphasising the importance of proximity, communication and memory, as well as depicting complex social relationships, tensions and contrasts between closeness and distance, cooperation and competition. Some included references to human relationships in the digital age in their work, addressing the timely topic of online communication and changing ways of making connections. Others explored the theme of man's relationship with nature, pointing to harmony on the one hand and the destructive impact of civilisation on the environment on the other. There were also references to man's relationship with technology. Modern technologies were a key element in many of the projects," concluded Monika Szpatowicz, curator of the Amberif fair, which the competition has accompanied for 28 years.
The works were judged by an international jury consisting of: Malte Guttek - director of the Goldsmiths' Art Society (Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst e.V.) and manager of the Goldschmiedehaus in Hanau; Yutaka Minegishi - artist, jewellery maker, winner of the Munich Art Prize (2017) and the Herbert Hoffman Award (2019); Bryna Pomp - curator and collector of contemporary jewellery, director/curator of the MAD About Jewelry exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design in New York (since 2011.); Magdalena Szadkowska - interdisciplinary artist (sculpture, jewellery, textiles), lecturer at the Institute of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź; and Olga Zobel - art historian, collector, founder and owner of Galerie Biró Munich.
The jury paid attention not only to aesthetics and workmanship/design quality, but above all to the originality of the approach to the theme and the conceptual potential. Of particular interest were projects that combined elements of craftsmanship with modern technologies and those that creatively reinterpreted the importance of amber in contemporary design.
This year - for the first time in the competition's history - the names of the winners will not be announced until the AMBERIF Vibes fashion and amber gala concluding the second day of the AMBERIF Spring International Fair of Amber and Jewellery. For the first time in the competition's less than 30-year history, the post-competition exhibition will feature finished realisations and not, as before, designs.
Amberif Design Award - Amber at the forefront of the world
The Amberif Design Award is a prestigious competition that promotes amber as a unique raw material in global jewellery design. For years, it has attracted artists and designers from all over the world, inspiring innovative approaches to this unique stone. The competition not only highlights the artistic and craftsmanship potential of amber, but also builds its international prestige. Thanks to the Amberif Design Award, amber is becoming a symbol of modern luxury, creativity and heritage, appreciated in global jewellery markets.
More information: Amberif Design Award
