Objectspace is delighted to present the second Objectspace Masters of Craft exhibition, Kobi Bosshard: Objectspace Master of Craft, curated by Dr Damian Skinner, New Zealand's foremost contemporary jewellery commentator.

Objectspace's Masters of Craft exhibition series celebrates the achievements of outstanding New Zealand practitioners working at the highest level in the fields of craft, design and the applied arts whose practice is distinctive, enduring, influential and redefining of tradition. Celebrating the accomplishments of master practitioners is an important strategy for Objectspace because it requires an assessment of practice placed within broad cultural, historical and social contexts and a consideration of the nature of making practice.

This retrospective exhibition of the jewellery of Kobi Bosshard surveys the practice of this defining figure within New Zealand jewellery - widely regarded as 'the grandfather' of New Zealand contemporary jewellery - locating his work within a wider history of contemporary jewellery in Aotearoa. As a Master of Craft, Bosshard is acknowledged as a maker who has made a significant contribution to New Zealand jewellery, which will be examined in this exhibition through a series of installations which situate his practice within a series of changing contexts and objects, from the 1960s to the present. The exhibition includes works loaned from leading public and private collections around New Zealand and overseas, including Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and The Dowse Art Museum.

Exhibition curator Damian Skinner locates Kobi Bosshard as the pivotal link between the modernist jewellers of the 1960s and the following generations of contemporary New Zealand jewellers, and describes a maker who, steeped in the tradition of modern European goldsmithing, came to New Zealand and built upon his inheritance to make works that are of this place and time.

This exhibition follows the highly successful Richard Parker: Objectspace Master of Craft (2011), which is currently touring nationally until late 2013. Objectspace Masters of Craft are major exhibition and publication projects initiated by Objectspace, which tour nationally. Kobi Bosshard: Objectspace Masters of Craft will tour nationally, 2012-2013.

Publication:

The exhibition is accompanied by Kobi Bosshard: Goldsmith, a substantial 144-page monograph authored by the exhibition curator Damian Skinner and published and distributed by Bateman Publishers. Kobi Bosshard: Goldsmith has been supported by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and features specially commissioned photographs by Studio La Gonda. This publication will be launched at the opening of Kobi Bosshard: Objectspace Masters of Craft. The publication is available for purchase from Objectspace, touring venues, and leading booksellers.

Public Programme:

Saturday 8 September, 11am: The Value of Tradition. Kobi Bosshard in conversation with New Zealand jeweller Peter McKay. Saturday 15 September, 11am: Kobi Bosshard in conversation with New Zealand jeweller and former Objectspace Chair Warwick Freeman. Saturday 27 October, 11am: Collecting Kobi Bosshard. Justine Olsen, Te Papa Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design, will talk about why Te Papa acquired a significant collection of Kobi Bosshard works, many of which are featured in this exhibition. Justine will be joined by Auckland Bosshard collectors Anna Miles, Elizabeth Steiner and Helen Wild who will talk about their admiration for the work of Kobi Bosshard.

Exhibition Tour Details - 2012-2013:

The Dowse Art Museum (Wellington) The Eastern Southland Gallery (Gore)