Computer & Jewellery

The Trojan Horse and other exhibits at the Jablonec Museum

Our museum has mounted an exhibition of contemporary jewellery by Computer&Jewellery, as part of the International Triennial of Glass and Jewellery Jablonec 2023. The featured artists respond to the impact of computer technology on our society, both in a positive and negative sense.

They have designed original jewellery incorporating artistically interesting components, data storage devices and other design elements of computers, mobile phones and similar devices. Some have cleverly incorporated computer slang into their work, while others have embraced the magic of designing through computer programs working with CNC machining, laser or 3D printing. “The distinctive creativity of artificial intelligence has also been exploited, and several artists have also devoted themselves to a deeper reflection on the issues of communication and the disintegration of civilisation as a result of the overuse of technology, or the fascination with artificial intelligence, which actually created some of the jewellery,” said Kateřina Nora Nováková, the exhibition’s curator.

The works on display reflect the distinctive artistic expression of each of the forty artists, but also the deeper thinking of the individual personalities on the issue of the impact of computer technology on human culture. Visitors to the exhibition will find jewellery in the form of a Trojan horse, a black box, a blue screen of death or a plant network as an analogy of the internet.

The exhibition includes the work of five artists who participated in the international jewellery symposium organised by the museum in June this year. This followed on from the Jablonec jewellery symposiums held in 1968, 1971 and 2008 and was held in the workshop of the Department of Textile Design of the Faculty of Textiles of the Technical University in Liberec. “The participants’ task was to portray the given subject and incorporate metal or glass jewellery components into their jewellery, which connects the work with traditional Jablonec production,” added Milada Valečková, the museum’s director. A catalogue of the same name has been published to accompany the exhibition.

The Computer&Jewellery exhibition of original contemporary jewellery will open on Thursday 7 December at 5pm. It will be open until 7 April 2024.

Participants of the International Jewellery Symposium:

Mia Čopíková (Slovak Republic), Carolin Denter (Germany), Kamila Housová Mizerová, Martin Pouzar, Martin Verner

Other exhibiting artists:

Michal Cimala, Jolana Čtvrtečková, Stanislava Grebeníčková, Martin Grosman, Jan Hásek, Marta Havlíčková, Pavel Herynek, Radomíra Jandová, Simona Kafková, Pavel Kopřiva, Karolína Kopřivová, Mária Kobelová, Jolana Krédlová Nováková, Jaroslav Kučera, Zdeňka Laštovičková, Antonie Lecher, Pavel Opočenský, Hana B. Polívková, Veronika Pouzarová, Kateřina Reich, Denisa Sedláková, Adéla Schicker, Marcela Kindl Steffanová, Jiří Šibor, Jana Válková Střílková, Ludmila Šikolová, Markéta Šílená, Kristýna Španihelová, Blanka Šperková, Marta Švajdová, Jiří Urban, Sára Vašíček Milleson, Miroslava Veselá, Karel Votipka, Adéla Wiesenbergerová, Markéta Poláková.