Amberif Design Award 2020: Ultimate Beauty

Satyrykon Gallery, Main Square 35

4 May – 12 June, 2021

Opening hours:

Tuesday - Friday: 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m

The exhibition presents the works that qualified for the 24th edition of the International Amberif Design Award Jewellery Design Competition, held in 2020 under the title Ultimate Beauty. The event was conceived by the International Amber and Jewellery Fair Amberif in Gdańsk, during which the award ceremony is also held. The aim of the competition is to promote creative thinking and innovative solutions in designing jewellery with amber. 169 designs by 130 artists from 25 countries were submitted for the Competition. The awarded and honoured artists come from Poland, Finland, Taiwan and Iran.

Ultimate beauty

Beauty is also for the eyes, but above all it creates and stabilises our identity. We consider charismatic people to be beautiful, just as we welcome the beauty of an object if it carries a story. Our quest for beauty is in fact a quest for life. So we appreciate such beauty that lasts for more than a moment and seduces us towards life. Amber exudes this special kind of beauty. With its wide range of natural colours it emphasises the beauty and identity of the person wearing it. Natural inclusions and tiny cracks in amber tell of a life beyond perfection. As part of the Amberif Design Award, we are looking for amber jewellery that is a commentary on ultimate beauty.

Barbara Schmidt - curator of the competition

The jury composed of Tarja Tuupanen (Finland), Ewa Rachoń (Poland), Marta Hryc (Poland), chaired by Melanie Isverding (Germany), awarded the following prizes and distinctions:

GRAND PRIX:
founded by the Mayor of the City of Gdańsk:
Marcin Tymiński, Poland

The jury felt that the delicate approach to the subject evidences a very sophisticated understanding of the competition theme. The dialogue between natural material and plastic and their equal treatment gives the work a timeless and holistic value. It also leaves room for imagination.

AMBER PRIZE:
funded by the International Amber Association:
Helena Lehtinen, Finland

At first glance the work is super-simple. And yet it is like a documentary. It raises questions about cultural backgrounds, it refers conceptually to classical necklaces.
It is a diary of evolution, a narrative built from many individual stories and choices.

SILVER AWARD:
Meng-Ju Wu, Taiwan

A technically challenging combination of metal alloy with amber requiring knowledge of metallurgical processes and the physical properties of organic amber. The result is a talismanic object with an inner light.

The jury decided to award TWO DISTINCTIONS:

Adriana Lisowska, Poland
For a playful approach to the classic concept of a necklace, where the author controls its properties, colour and positioning of elements.

Fatemeh Darzidarounkola, Iran
For an important reflection on the current state of the sea, climate change, pollution and how we use the resources we have and what we leave behind.