During Munich Jewellery Week, Sarah Rachel Brown looks forward to those moments when she compliments someone’s jewelry, unknowingly telling the artist that she admires their work. It’s the perfect icebreaker for getting to know someone. Jewellery Week brings our international community together and not only allows us to see each other’s jewelry in person but also to connect the faces with the work. We’re given a chance to ask about each other’s lives and experience the aspects of our personalities that cannot be captured in an exhibition.
(Foreground) Sigurd Bronger at the press event for Sigurd Bronger, Wearables, Die Neue Sammlung, March 1, 2024. You can also glimpse Jorunn Veiteberg, with her glasses pushed up on her head, photo: Aaron Decker
For this recording with the Norwegian artist Sigurd Bronger—at the opening of Sigurd Bronger: Wearables, at Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, his first solo exhibition in a museum outside Norway—Brown approached their conversation with the same curiosity and warmth as anyone else she might compliment on the streets of Munich. As you listen, you’ll feel as though you’re overhearing a conversation in a gallery, a moment between two artists getting to know each other. Scroll below the recording to see photos of Bronger’s work as you enjoy the conversation.
Sigurd Bronger, Brooch, 1984, brass, steel, lacquer, 5 ⅞ x ¾ x ¾ inches (150 x 20 x 20 mm), private collection, photo: artistSigurd Bronger, Ring, 1994, hard foam, silver, acrylic paint, 1 ⅝ x ¾ inches (40 x 20 mm), private collection, photo: artistSigurd Bronger, Balloon, 2001, brooch, balloon, chrome-plated brass, steel, size of balloon 5 ⅞ x 2 x 9 ½ inches (150 x 51 x 240 mm), private collection, photo: artistSigurd Bronger, Camay, 2005, necklace, Camay soap (hotel size), chrome-plated silver, cotton cord, 1 ⅝ x 1 ½ x ½ inches (40 x 37 x 12 mm), collection Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, photo: artistSigurd Bronger, Carrying Device for a Nautilus Shell, 2015, brooch, nautilus shell, steel, gold-plated brass, 4 ⅛ x 5 ½ x 3 ⅞ inches (105 x 140 x 98 mm), collection Nationalmuseum Oslo, Bavarian State Award for outstanding ideas and technical achievements in the craft sector, photo: artistSigurd Bronger, Carrying Device for a Goose Egg, 2016, necklace, goose egg, felt, white gold cord,4 ⅜ x 1 ⅝ inches (110 x 40 mm), private collection, photo: artistSigurd Bronger, Sustainable Construction No 0923, 2023, brooch, cardboard box, silver, steel, brass, 1 ⅝ x 1 ⅝ x ¾ inches (40 x 40 x 20 mm), private collection, photo: artist
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Sarah Rachel Brown is an artist and journalist based in Philadelphia, PA, working full time as a business and marketing consultant within the fine jewelry industry. Sarah is a member of the JV Collective, a collaborative contemporary jewelry studio, gallery, and project collective founded in 2016. Since 2017, Sarah’s studio practice has been centered around Perceived Value, a podcast and socially engaged project acclaimed for radical transparency and candid interviews discussing the financial and logistical aspects of working artists' careers. Sarah has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including The Contemporary Jewelry Show at the Penland Gallery (NC), Munich Jewellery Week, and New York City Jewelry Week. Sarah has been an artist-in-residence at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, a Core Fellow at the Penland School of Crafts, and she received her training through a three-year apprenticeship with jeweler Sarah Loertscher. Photo: Linette Messina Martinez
