PAN and interview

from 19 November till November 26 Rai, Amsterdam The annual PAN will take place from Sunday 19 November to Sunday 26 November 2023. My work will be on display at Galerie Rob Koudijs,booth 37  On November 22, the PAN organizes a special jewelry and fashion day. Carin Reinders, director of CODA, will interview me and colleague Evert […]

25 years Reverso

from 25 november till end of 2023 Rua da Esperança, 59/611200-655, LisboaPortugal On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Reverso gallery in Lisbon, I have been invited to create new works inspired by the colors of the gallery: orange, purple, fuchsia colour and green. Stay tuned.more information

Summer in Apeldoorn

from July 2 to October 1 The CODA Museum shows a selection of summer related jewellery from their collection, including some of my works.

On AiR

(artist in residence)04.07.2023 to 08.10.2023. Villa BengelWilhelmstraße 42a55743 Idar-Oberstein

for ever

Saturday September 30 and Sunday October 1stTwo solo exhibitions by Beppe Kessler and Ralph Bakker in the Luther Museum in Amsterdam. On Saturday the 30st of September and Sunday the 1st of October, you are welcome in the historic Church Room of the 18th century Wittenberg building. Open from 12.00 – 17.00 hours. Both artists will attent the festive opening on […]

for ever

What if you suddenly hear that you are ill…
What do you do afterwards, when you are totally ok again, what do you want to say and make, how to start?
Come back.

What do you do with all those half things that lie in drawers, stored in boxes: damaged, broken, kept, worthless and of value.

Jewelry that you no longer wear, made of gold or silver, worn links, broken clasps. There are memories…. A medallion of horn, inlaid with silver and mother-of-pearl, worn daily as a teenager in their heyday, the 1960s, just like the gold link bracelet.
A precious coral brooch you never wore, too much of a jewel, too fine.
Cufflinks, received as a keepsake.

But also a damaged Japanese lacquer box, an ebony violin key.
A milk tooth, no idea whose.
A jat that you don’t know how you got it.
Shells and pieces of coral collected by your mother in Indonesia in the late 1940s.
Tin figures.
The charm chain full of silver creatures, people, things, objects around your neck, each with their meaning. Ringing worn and cherished.

I’m putting them all back in the spotlight. I prefer to immortalize them forever.
I isolate or disassemble them, I combine them and give them a second life in a composition with pearls and rabbit droppings sprinkled in between. Together they grow into new, tiny stories in the form of a brooch. New life.

© Beppe Kessler