JEWELLERY ART -
HOMMAGE to J.L. DEFNER
20 Oct. - 12 Nov. 2011
Exhibition opening: 20 October 2011, 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
(Tour of Galleries)



J.L. Defner, "marines" Collier mit Opalen, Rubinen, Saphiren, Smaragden, Gold 900, 2010

In late autumn, Vienna's Galerie Slavik is exhibiting the latest works of J.E.G. Defner, who - 80 years young - presents a number of impressive masterpieces.

Defner is one of Austria's most distinguished jewellery artists. She studied jewellery design at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts in the early 1960s and has been working ever since – initially and until 1976 in a workshop partnership with the jewellery artist Helfried Kodré – as an independent artist in Vienna.

The artist was distinguished with the Bavarian State Award in Munich in 1967 and the Diamond Award in 1970. Today, her works are on show in numerous international museums, for example in Vienna, Graz, Pforzheim, Cologne, Prague and Edinburgh.

For Elisabeth Defner - who in a vibration experiment on her own person adopted the extra name of Jesus Guennaibim in 1990 – jewellery is not just a matter of aesthetics, but, in line with the artist's holistic approach, above all an accessory that promotes the health and harmony of body, mind and soul. The artist combines energising metals and stones with specific forms in her jewellery to achieve a type of harmony that may trigger a process of inner change in the wearer. The beauty of works such as the rings and brooches inspired by the shape of ginkgo tree leaves enters into a magical combination with the beneficial effects of the plant, thus adding to the well-being of the person wearing the piece.

In her new works, Defner further develops her unique concept and brings it to perfection. Her source of inspiration continues to be nature, above all the world of plants, but also the sea. A particularly captivating piece is the silver cast of the bark of a sycamore, enhanced with shimmering opals. Her enchanting necklace "Frutti die mare" made of silver, pyrite flower, moonstone, azurite, pebbles, mother of pearl and pieces of glass found on the beach has the freshness and charm of a walk along a beach of sparkling sand.

Concurrently with the exhibition, the book "Mensch Natur Kosmos" ("Man Nature Cosmos") on Defner's jewellery work will be published by ARNOLDSCHE ART Publishers.