The Sterckshof Commission 2011 Prelude to a Kiss by Georges

PRESS RELEASE
The Sterckshof Commission 2011
Prelude to a Kiss by Georges Cuyvers
The sixteenth Sterckshof Commission Prelude to a Kiss is the work of silversmith
Georges Cuyvers (* Beverlo 1951). To tie in with this initiative, Sterckshof Silver
Museum is mounting an exhibition entitled Georges Cuyvers. Astonished and
moved by nature, which will run from December1st 2011 to May 1st 2012.
Georges Cuyvers is one of Belgium’s most important silversmiths. In 1976,
immediately after graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp,
he won the Provincial Prize for Applied Arts awarded by the Province of Antwerp.
From 1973 to 1978 he was employed in the ateliers of Piet Hye and Zahir Art
Jewellers. In 1979 he set up his own workshop and combined his work as a designer
cum silversmith with teaching at the Stedelijke Nijverheidsschool (technical school)
in Antwerp and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.
Versatility characterizes his whole body of work: from installations to jewellery,
from candlesticks and vases to autonomous artworks. Whether using copper,
gold, platinum or silver, craftsmanship is always the focus. His technically highly
proficient creations are shown to an international public by galleries in Belgium,
Denmark, Germany, England and the Netherlands, including Axel Vervoordt
(’s-Gravenwezel), Galerie Lieve Hemel (Amsterdam), Galleri Montan (Copenhagen)
and the Saatchi Gallery (London). His work has been or is still on show at
Eurantica Brussels, Art Basel, Art Fair Düsseldorf, Art Fair Den Bosch, Art Fair
Luxembourg, Art Fair Munich, MiArt Fiera d’Arte Milan, PAN Amsterdam and
TEFAF Maastricht.
On several occasions Georges Cuyvers has sat on the panel of judges for the Antwerp
Diamond High Council Awards. In 2010 he contributed Two Golden Birds to the
group Recycling exhibition organized by the Hammerclub at Sterckshof Silver
Museum, for which he won the prestigious Hammerclub Award.
Prelude to a Kiss consists of two objects whose artistic idiom enables them to
conduct a dialogue. The materials and the techniques used were chosen according
to the intended dialogue. The result is a form of poetry.
The first object is made of fine silver. The silver plate was raised, chased and
filled with niello. Georges Cuyvers took historical formulas and reinterpreted this
PRESS RELEASE
ancient decorative technique to create a contemporary piece that is quite unique.
The second object is made of red copper. Again great attention was paid to the
treatment of the surface. Accentuating patinas were applied to the red copper after
the example of the dinanderie objects made in the first half of the twentieth century.
The two objects are like yin and yang. They contrast and complement each other
and together achieve perfection. In the Georges Cuyvers. Astonished and moved
by nature exhibition, Prelude to a Kiss is presented alongside other of Cuyvers’
selected works. The exhibition presents a small but representative cross-section of
his artistic versatility.
Exhibition
Georges Cuyvers. Astonished and moved by nature
Dates:
Opening times: Admission:
December 1st 2011 to May 1st 2012
Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10 to 17.30 hrs
Free, except during the Silver Market on May 1st 2012
Special date: On Sunday December11th Sterckshof Silver Museum is holding a
Meet and Greet event with silversmith Georges Cuyvers between 11 and 17.00
hrs.
Publication
Prelude to a Kiss by Georges Cuyvers
Texts: Professor Leo De Ren with a foreword by Sandra Janssens
Photographs: Koen Broos, Georges Cuyvers
Design: Frederik Hulstaert
Languages: Dutch, French, English, German
Pages: 24
ISBN number: 9789066251458
Series: Sterckshof Studies 46
Price: €9
€7 members of the Sterckshof Foundation and OKV cardholders
€6 five copies or more, excluding postage and packing.