Elisabeth J. Gu. Defner
By Karl Bollmann

The first comprehensive and lavishly illustrated monography of the Austrian jewellery artist Elisabeth J. Gu. DefnerA brillant presentation of all groups of her work: Modelling, Frutti di Mare, Stones and Pebbles, Insects, Magnetic Jewellery, Wands and Black Walnuts, to mention only a fewPresents the unique work of Elisabeth Defner - jewellery that treads a previously unknown path: a unity of man, nature and cosmosWith contributions by Karl Bollmann, Margit Hart, Birgit Wiesinger, Adolf Holl, Reinhard Gutmann, Desirée Müller, Renate Slavik and an interview by Sylvia Ferino-Padgen and Christian Beaufort-SpontinText in English and GermanSince the 1960s, Elisabeth Defner has been one of Austria’s most prominent jewellery artists. Nowadays her works are displayed in museums in e.g. Vienna, Graz, Pforzheim, Cologne, Prague and London. Defner sees jewellery not merely as an aesthetic matter, but also as a form of complementary healthcare for body, soul and spirit. The energy radiated from the metals and stones is in holistic harmony with the forms of the jewellery and can bring about an inner transformation of the wearer.Brooches, earrings, rings or pendants are combined with moulded plant leaves, so that the beauty of the jewellery can merge symbolically with the magical effect of the plant.Her understanding of art is reflected in a famous remark by the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer: ‘Truly art is firmly fixed in Nature. He who can extract her thence, he alone has her’.Text in English and German.