T H E W ID E W O R L D O F C R A F T
Below, left and right:
Local fashion designer
Claudia Skoda finds
Berlin is the perfect
place to create edgy
styles, thanks in part to
the open-minded out-
look of its residents.
Right:
Paul Reimert’s
Bad
tV eed iu ,
2008, an
8-foot-high work made
from metal, ceramic
shards, cement, epoxy
resin and pigments,
communicates his dis-
dain for mass-produced
kitschy figurines.
at Schmuck Fritz, located in Kreuzberg.
Owned by Manuel Fritz, a jeweler himself,
the shop offers an eclectic selection of jew-
elry such as earrings made from printed
parchment by Ulrike Hamm, the chunky
cast glass pendants of Petra Brenner and
Silke Spitzer’s bold linoleum pieces.
Another artist represented at the shop
is Bernd Kühn, a ceramist who also owns
his own store, where he makes and sells an
over-the-top collection of porcelain. Large
vessels covered with strawberries and tall,
lidded vases with dog-shaped handles and
skull paintings make up this collection of
what he describes as “polished punk.“
The antithesis to this work can be found
at the studio of Paul Reimert, a Dutch artist
who has lived in Berlin for over 30 years.
His ceramic collages include life-size male
figures, as well as pigs or trees made entirely
from ceramic bunny heads covered in glue
and paint. “I frequent the local flea markets,”
he explains. “I’m saddened to see how many
070 american craft oct/novo9
people enjoy kitschy ceramic figurines.”
He recycles these mass-produced objects
by destroying them and using the shards
to assemble detailed one-of-a-kind pieces—
a personal one-man crusade to transform
the everyday into art.
Work like Reimert’s is a testament to the
mindset in Berlin since the fall of the wall
and explains to some extent why artists have
thrived there. A progressive attitude per-
meates the city. Claudia Skoda, a knitwear
designer, observes that Berlin has never
been a place for high fashion but rather has
embraced an edgy street wear that has gone
mainstream here since reunification. “I am
glad we did not get the extreme consumer-
ism found in other communist countries
after the opening to the W est,” she says.
“People in Berlin are not craving material
possessions. They are doing well and are
content, enjoying life. ♦
Martina IVitidels is a jeweler living in Provi-
dence, Rhode Island.
“People in Berlin are not cra ving material
possessions. They are doing well and are enjoying
life. ”— Claudia Skoda, designer
www.freedowns.net & www.journal-plaiza.net
