Twenty jewellery makers from Europe were invited to participate in the exhibition: Slawomir Fijałkowski, Christiane Förster, Karl Fritsch, Sophie Hanagarth, Herman Hermsen, Daniel Kruger, Stefano Marchetti, Pavel Opočensky, Annelies Planteijdt, Ramon Puig Cuyàs, Wolfgang Rahs, Ulrich Reithofer, Philip Sajet, Adolfas Šaulys, Gisbert Stach, Wilhelm Tasso Mattar, Manuel Vilhena, Arek Wolski and Petra Zimmermann. Most of them had never worked with amber before - and this was exactly the idea of the originators of this exhibition: we wanted the artists to look at amber with an ‘untainted’ eye, to be inspired by it. They were inspired by the legends associated with amber and their own associations with this stone. The resulting works are in a trend characteristic of their authors„ previous work, although marked by an ”amber sensibility'.
„Inviting artists who hadn't dealt with amber before was a very risky move, because we didn't know what the end result would be. But that's what was insanely fascinating: this uncertainty and anticipation of how the artists would handle the challenge. I admit that I only breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the works - I think the vast majority of them are very good indeed,” comments the exhibition's co-moderator Wim Vandekerckhove, whose Villa de Bondt gallery in Ghent will host the exhibition's first opening. „Our aim has been realised: new creations, interesting ideas , but also a new artistic sensibility has emerged. The participants are also satisfied, they emphasise the artistic qualities and the ease with which amber can be worked; some regret that they discovered the stone so late. I think they will come back to it again,” she concludes.
„I am immensely pleased when artists who work in different materials just reach for amber and find it an interesting material,” says Ewa Rachoń, commissioner of the Amberif amber fair. Her opinion is shared by designer Arek Wolski, one of the two Polish participants in the „Petrified Tears” exhibition: „It is good that amber appears in the works of well-known artists - people who express themselves and send certain messages to the world through various materials. From the perspective of promoting amber, this exhibition will certainly be a milestone.”.
Exhibition „Petrified Tears”
Villa de Bondt, Ghent (Belgium): 19.01.2012 – 02.03.2013
Amber Museum, Gdansk: 21.02 – 21.04.2013
Legnica Silver Festival, Legnica: 30.04 – 07.06.2013
Amber Museum in Ribnitz-Damgarten (Germany) - planned