Fragments
Fragment
2011 (designed and made)
2011 (designed and made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Tamar De Vries Winter creates precious objects that explore memories, events, or personal stories. Enamelling, the application and fusion of glass paste to metal under intense heat, is central to her work. The bowl’s interior features a collage of photographs in enamel, which celebrate her own multicultural identity. The fragmented images show an olive tree, a symbol of Jerusalem where she was born, and an apple tree from her garden in Cambridge.
Artist's statement:
I work with metal and glass. This is my language. In fusing metal and enamel I integrate ancient and contemporary concepts and techniques. I grew up in Israel and the Middle Eastern influences were crucial for my development as a jewellery designer and maker. Ancient cultures made a great impact on my artistic identity. The texture of the land, the Mediterranean colours and landscape, and the multi-cultural character of the people are reflected in my work. My interest in ceremonial objects centres on the relationship between the person and the object, marking a distinctive occasion. I create personal precious objects that signify an event, a memory and a celebration. Enamel enables me to express myself freely with colour and combine it with my earlier experience in jewellery design. As I construct, join and fuse the elements, the qualities of the material change, the soft material turns hard. Through this process I create three-dimensional objects that combine the unique nature of this ancient craft with my own personal statement. I work with a team of craftsmen skilled in various fields – from silversmiths and spinners to photographers and computer experts. I find it very rewarding to work in a community of specialized makers who through team work and exchange of ideas engage in this creative process. For the last seven years I have been a co-director of Studio Fusion – a London gallery dedicated to contemporary vitreous enamel.
I was attracted to enamelling from a young age, because of the brilliant permanence of colours produced by the fusing of metal and glass. I grew up in Israel and came to London at age 20 to study at Central St Martins—University of the Arts. I trained as a jeweller and then returned to Israel to teach at the Bezalel Academy. There I met an extraordinary teacher, Vera Ronnen. She inspired my enthusiasm for enamel, and especially the traditional techniques of cloisonné, champlevé or “raised field”-engraving, and grisaille or painting enamel. After three years in Jerusalem, I returned to the U.K.
Artist's statement:
I work with metal and glass. This is my language. In fusing metal and enamel I integrate ancient and contemporary concepts and techniques. I grew up in Israel and the Middle Eastern influences were crucial for my development as a jewellery designer and maker. Ancient cultures made a great impact on my artistic identity. The texture of the land, the Mediterranean colours and landscape, and the multi-cultural character of the people are reflected in my work. My interest in ceremonial objects centres on the relationship between the person and the object, marking a distinctive occasion. I create personal precious objects that signify an event, a memory and a celebration. Enamel enables me to express myself freely with colour and combine it with my earlier experience in jewellery design. As I construct, join and fuse the elements, the qualities of the material change, the soft material turns hard. Through this process I create three-dimensional objects that combine the unique nature of this ancient craft with my own personal statement. I work with a team of craftsmen skilled in various fields – from silversmiths and spinners to photographers and computer experts. I find it very rewarding to work in a community of specialized makers who through team work and exchange of ideas engage in this creative process. For the last seven years I have been a co-director of Studio Fusion – a London gallery dedicated to contemporary vitreous enamel.
I was attracted to enamelling from a young age, because of the brilliant permanence of colours produced by the fusing of metal and glass. I grew up in Israel and came to London at age 20 to study at Central St Martins—University of the Arts. I trained as a jeweller and then returned to Israel to teach at the Bezalel Academy. There I met an extraordinary teacher, Vera Ronnen. She inspired my enthusiasm for enamel, and especially the traditional techniques of cloisonné, champlevé or “raised field”-engraving, and grisaille or painting enamel. After three years in Jerusalem, I returned to the U.K.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Fragments (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Britannia silver and enamel |
| Brief description | Bowl, Fragments, Britannia silver and enamel, photographic enamel transfers, London hallmarks for Britannia silver, 2011, designed and made by Tamar De Vries Winter. |
| Physical description | Bowl, Britannia silver, the internal surface enamelled. The bowl, circular, rising outwards from a small, circular base, the interior entirely covered with a collage of fragmented photographs, rendered in enamel and fused to the interior surface of the bowl. The photographs are a combination of images of an olive tree, (symbol of Jerusalem, the silversmith's birthplace) and an apple tree (symbol of her garden in Cambridge). The combined effect is to give an image of fragmentation and uprooting. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Purchased with funds from the James Yorke-Radleigh Bequest |
| Object history | Artist's statement: I was born in the British Mandate, Palestine, to a family of refugees. My grandfather was a doctor in Berlin, who was awarded the Iron Cross for service in the Medical Corps of the German Army during World War 1, but when the Nazi regime came to power in 1933, he left Germany and brought his family to Jerusalem. My father was also a doctor, trained in Holland. He decided to flee from his native country in the spring of 1940, shortly before it was invaded by German forces. For very different reasons I too left my country of birth and childhood to train as a jeweller/silversmith and enameller. Central to all my work is the practice of storytelling. This applies to the making of a piece of jewellery, a ceremonial vessel or a commemorative object - it is always like telling a story. I have created a collage of fragmented photographs, rendered in enamel and fused to the surface of my bowl to tell a personal narrative. The inside of the bowl combines the iconic symbols of the olive tree (Jerusalem, my birthplace) and the apple tree (my garden in Cambridge), with an image of fragmentation and uprooting. We are continuously witnessing a global conflict, resulting in the suffering and dislocation of large civilian populations. I identify with these refugees because of my own family experience. In this bowl I try to convey the fragments of disrupted lives. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Summary | Tamar De Vries Winter creates precious objects that explore memories, events, or personal stories. Enamelling, the application and fusion of glass paste to metal under intense heat, is central to her work. The bowl’s interior features a collage of photographs in enamel, which celebrate her own multicultural identity. The fragmented images show an olive tree, a symbol of Jerusalem where she was born, and an apple tree from her garden in Cambridge. Artist's statement: I work with metal and glass. This is my language. In fusing metal and enamel I integrate ancient and contemporary concepts and techniques. I grew up in Israel and the Middle Eastern influences were crucial for my development as a jewellery designer and maker. Ancient cultures made a great impact on my artistic identity. The texture of the land, the Mediterranean colours and landscape, and the multi-cultural character of the people are reflected in my work. My interest in ceremonial objects centres on the relationship between the person and the object, marking a distinctive occasion. I create personal precious objects that signify an event, a memory and a celebration. Enamel enables me to express myself freely with colour and combine it with my earlier experience in jewellery design. As I construct, join and fuse the elements, the qualities of the material change, the soft material turns hard. Through this process I create three-dimensional objects that combine the unique nature of this ancient craft with my own personal statement. I work with a team of craftsmen skilled in various fields – from silversmiths and spinners to photographers and computer experts. I find it very rewarding to work in a community of specialized makers who through team work and exchange of ideas engage in this creative process. For the last seven years I have been a co-director of Studio Fusion – a London gallery dedicated to contemporary vitreous enamel. I was attracted to enamelling from a young age, because of the brilliant permanence of colours produced by the fusing of metal and glass. I grew up in Israel and came to London at age 20 to study at Central St Martins—University of the Arts. I trained as a jeweller and then returned to Israel to teach at the Bezalel Academy. There I met an extraordinary teacher, Vera Ronnen. She inspired my enthusiasm for enamel, and especially the traditional techniques of cloisonné, champlevé or “raised field”-engraving, and grisaille or painting enamel. After three years in Jerusalem, I returned to the U.K. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.15-2016 |
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| Record created | April 21, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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