The Gitana Collection: A Sneak Peek

We are delighted to host a trunk show on April 19th and 20th showcasing the Gitana Collection of silver jewelry, including a large selection of new pieces by incomparable silversmith and designer Agnes Seebass.  For complete details on this event, please scroll back a post of two, and voila.

In the meantime, we'd love to tempt you with a quick preview. 


Necklace:  Three silver squares, recessed gold leaf



Necklace:  A length of solid and open silver links



Necklace:  Silver Circles

 

Bracelet:  Recessed silver cubes



Necklace:  Recessed silver cubes

 

Necklace:  Recessed silver round, gold leaf




Earrings:  Silver rounds, recessed gold leaf, posts



Necklace:  Silver cones, frosted aqua glass beads



Necklace:  Square silver pendant, gold leaf accenting

All of the above pieces come from the studio of Agnes Seebass.  Here's a little about the artist:

Agnes Seebass was born in 1966 in Berlin, West Germany. She says that from the time she was a young child she loved working with her hands, and had a natural inclination for the arts. In 1985, she studied architecture in the HHS-Architecture Bureau in Bremen, and in 1986 went to Toulouse, France, where she studied Architecture and French at the Université du Mirail. Between 1987 and1991 Agnes studied Jewelry Design and Techniques of Production at the Staatliche Zeichenakademie in Hanau, Germany.

Around this time, while in Frankfurt, Agnes was exposed to Mexican modern and folk art and desired to learn more about Mexican culture, especially the fabrication of metal in Taxco. In 1992 she had the good fortune to be awarded a scholarship from the institution Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft to study silversmithing at the Los Castillo workshop in Taxco.

Later, she began creating her own pieces and opened her own workshop, first in Taxco and then in Cuernavaca where she presently works.

Agnes points out that while her jewelry designs were significantly enriched by the hollowware techniques she learned at Los Castillo, and by the styles and techniques of earlier Mexican silversmiths whose interpretations of pre-Columbian motifs define much of their work, she is a modernist whose designs only subtly reflect this influence.  In Agnes' words:

I think that my designs are a mixture of German and Mexican culture. In part the forms of Mexican nature and contrasts inspire me and on the other hand I like simple geometric forms and of course I have a (German) passion for precise handcraftsmanship.

Normally I do not draw a design. I work directly with the metal, experimenting, hammering, et cetera.  All of my pieces are 100% handmade. I do not use any industrial process. For me, pieces made by hand and with patience (time is no argument in my workshop) have a very different feeling than any mass-produced piece.

There is something very special for me about working with silver; it is like an adventure and I keep discovering new ways to achieve the results I have in mind. Sometimes the process is very intuitive, like the pendants with texture and gold leaf painting. I manipulate the surface in a spontaneous way until they look like canvas and can provoke curiosity to get closer, to touch…

- Special thanks to Marbeth Schon, “Modern Maestro”, modernsilver.com

To "touch", as one must do to truly appreciate this fine jewelry, come visit the Gallery during the trunk show, and have a sip of champagne as you enjoy.

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