Otto Künzli

Book excerpt: The Swiss Otto Künzli (born in 1948) revolutionised modern jewellery design and is regarded as ‘one of the most intelligent and at the same time most critical artists in the world of jewelry’ (Ralph Turner: The New Jewelry, 1985/1994). Over the course of his involvement with jewellery, spanning around 45 years, Otto Künzli achieved a unique status as an artist and pioneer, and also as an author and teacher, with widespread international influence. Renowned artists such as Karen Pontoppidan (Konstfack, Stockholm), Karl Fritsch (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), David Bielander and Lisa Walker are amongst the graduates of the jewellery class at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, which Künzli has been directing since 1991 as successor to Hermann Jünger. This publication presents his complete multifaceted oeuvre to a wide readership for the first time. The monograph comprises not only his jewellery, but also multidisciplinary conceptual works in the fields of photography and installations. It is at the same time a review of a current definition of and a future perspective on his work. The striking and unusual graphic design was created by Frederik Linke, as was the previous successful title "The Fat Booty of Madness." Otto Künzli’s works are based on complex reflections and the visual power of the imagination. This has resulted in works characterised by minimalistic clarity and impressive technical perfection, full of wit and sensual intensity. With contributions by Jacqueline Burckhardt | Walter Grasskamp | Florian Hufnagl | Ellen Maurer Zilioli | Pravu Mazumdar | Chantal Prod’Hom and Carole Guinard | Akio Seki | Otto Künzli. -- Publisher's description.