Niki_Portrait_1
In the arts the self-portrait is a remarkable and highly valued phenomenon. After all, it doesn’t only display the technical skills of the maker, but also reveals the person behind the work. Within the realm of art jewellery it is a rare motif, the exception being the work of the young German artist Niklas Link. He had his professional training in Pforzheim, and then studied metal-design at the University of Hildesheim, where he recently obtained, in 2016, his bachelor of arts with professor Georg Dobler and Karin Seufert.

His pieces are based on his own face, which he employs as a mirror of his perception of the world and its influence on himself. His brooches and pendants go beyond the mere making of simple effigies, for through a vigorous process of abstraction he develops images that obtain a much more universal meaning. Another essential factor in Link’s approach, is his choice of materials: for his jewellery he mostly favours steel, which he supplements with plastic elements. Often these additions are mass-produced, but in this new context they acquire an unexpected, expressive quality. The work is further enhanced by applying zirconia – industrially produced diamonds – and inventively situated coloured surfaces. Working with these starting points, Niklas Link develops jewellery pieces that – next to their artisanal merits – derive their appeal from combining the mystery of masks, with the irony of the caricature or the expressiveness of a symbol.

Ward Schrijver, for the solo exhibition at the FrontRoom: NIKLAS LINK »Face ID Variety« at Gallery Rob Koudijs.
(© Galerie Rob Koudijs)

NIKLAS LINK

born 1989 in Rauenberg, Germany
lives and works in Saarbrücken, Germany

EDUCATION

2016

Bachelor of Arts with professor Georg Dobler and Karin Seufert

2012 – 2016

HAWK HHG, University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hildesheim, Germany

2010 – 2012

Apprenticeship diploma as a goldsmith at Birgitta Knauth Jewellery in Rome, Italy

2007 – 2010

State certified designer, College for design of jewellery, objects and art, Goldschmiedeschule Pforzheim, Germany

SCHOLARSHIPS

2017

Exchange scholarship of the Künstlerhaus Lukas in Ahrenshoop, Germany at the Guesthouse Studio Hollufgård, Denmark, funded by the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023

»DISTORTED« Galerie Rob Koudijs at KunstRAI ART Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2021

»CHARACTERS« Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2020

»CHARACTERS« Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

2017

»Face ID Variety« Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024

»Summer Exhibition« Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

»BKV-Preis 2024 für Junges Kunsthandwerk« (finalist) Galerie bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein, Munich, Germany

2022

»30 Years Part II« Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

»HO! HO! HO!« Friends of Carlotta, Zurich, Switzerland

»30 Years Part I« Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

»Gesichter – Faces« Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany

2021

»Auftakt. Sponsored jewelry artists of the first years – 2016 to 2021« BLECH (art space), Halle (Saale), Germany

»Radical Craft 3« Direktorenhaus, Berlin, Germany

»Ruudun Takaa – Taidekatu 2021« Pieksämäki, Finland

2020

»GRASSIMESSE« forum and fair for applied art and product design, Leipzig, Germany

»The contemporary metal art biennial METALLOphone 5: MUSEUM« Lithuanian National Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania

»DUO« duo exhibition with Birgitta Knauth, Birgitta Knauth Schmuck, Bonn, Germany

»Happy 10th Anniversary« ATTA Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

»Friedrich Becker Prize 2020« (finalist) Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf and Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau, Germany

2019

»GRASSIMESSE« forum and fair for applied art and product design, Leipzig, Germany

»In Dialogue« TempContemp Northcity4 Gallery, Brunswick (Melbourne), Australia

»In Dialogue« Taidekeskus ITÄ / Art Centre East, Lappeenranta, Finnland

»BKV-Preis 2019 für Junges Kunsthandwerk« (finalist) Galerie bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein, Munich, Germany

»In Dialogue« SCHMUCK 2019, Goldschmiede Barbara Fuchs, Munich, Germany

»Jewelry is like food. If you eat it you will want more.« Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

Mini I-Land exhibition, ATTA Gallery Bangkok, Thailand

2018

»Das Schöne, Das Wahre, Das Edle« Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

»GRASSIMESSE« forum and fair for applied art and product design, Leipzig, Germany

»Design without Boarders« a designshow in Budapest, Hungary

»My Munich« a curated exhibition at Internationale Handwerksmesse IHM, Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany

2017

»CELEBRATION« Artists of the Gallery, Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Georg Dobler: Students »Pretty Pieces«, Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany

»HAUTNAH« duo exhibition with Marie Grewenig, Birgitta Knauth Schmuck, Bonn, Germany

2016

»The 3rd International Biennial of Contemporary Metal Art« (AV17) Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania

»The 30th Edition of the Marzee International Graduate Show« Nijmegen, The Netherlands

»Alliages – The Legacy Award« Exhibition at JOYA Barcelona Art Jewellery Fair, Spain

»20/20« Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery in Salts Mill, The UK

»HAUTNAH« duo exhibition with Marie Grewenig, Claudia Grewenig Schmuck, Saarbrücken, Germany

»gut – germany‘s upcoming talents« Galerie Biró Junior, Munich, Germany

2015

»Most Excellent! Ausgezeichnet!« Schmuck_Kunst für Helden, Chemnitz, Germany

»BIC MAJA 2015« Beijing International Contemporary Metal & Jewelry Art Exhibition 2015, Beijing, China

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

2019

Musée du Bijou Contemporain, Cagnes sur Mer, France

2018

Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim »ISSP Förderankauf«, Pforzheim, Germany

2014

GRASSI Museum für angewandte Kunst, Leipzig, Germany

PUBLICATIONS

2018

»The Reciprocity Issue« AUTOR Magazine #5, Romania

2017

Georg Dobler: Students »Pretty Pieces«, Fruehwerk Verlag, Germany

»Preziosa Young 2017« Contemporary Jewellery Catalogue, special mention, Italy

»Alliages – The Legacy Award 2016« Catalogue, France

2016

»The 3rd International Biennial of Contemporary Metal Art« (AV17) Gallery, Lithuania

»The 30th Edition of the Marzee International Graduate Show«, The Netherlands

»gut – germany‘s upcoming talents« Galerie Biró, Germany

»Most Excellent! Ausgezeichnet!« Jewellery _ Art for Heroes, Arnoldsche Art Publischers,Germany

2015

»uniting differences merging innovations – Beijing International Contemporary Metal & Jewelry Art Exhibition 2015« China World Art Museum, Beijing, China

2013

»Joies Divines – creacions amb discs de vinil« Edició: Escola Superior de Disseny de les Illes Balears

2008

»as we like it« Arnoldsche Art Publischers, Germany