My name is Ann-Kathrin Kuhn, and I create wearable and collectible objects between Florence and Zurich.
Drawing on histories of art and craftsmanship, material research, and motifs of the natural world, my work moves at the intersection of art, design, and contemporary jewelry, exploring symbolic, utilitarian and mystical dimensions of adornment across different scales – from the intimate and personal to the collective and the universal.
Ann-Kathrin Kuhn® – Wearables and Collectibles – is an evolving universe of wearable objects, collectible editions, printed matter, and material observations.
Emerging from an ongoing artistic practice and research, it brings together adornment, sculprure, publishing, and collecting within a shared landscape.
Through its virtual presence and collaborations with contemporary art galleries, concept stores, and temporary spaces, Ann-Kathrin Kuhn® presents small series of objects and limited editions to be worn or collected.
My wearables and collectible metal objects are slowly handcrafted in my studio in Zurich, Switzerland. Working in small editions and pièces uniques allows each piece to retain its integrity and singular character.
Rooted in the ancient process of Cire Perdue, my practice begins with sculpting in wax or from forms gathered from the natural world. I am drawn to overlooked textures and traces: twigs, shells, seeds, fabrics, fragments collected, labelled, and preserved in an archive in the studio – an evolving catalogue of specimens, memories, and material observations.
Through metal, these fleeting forms are given another timescale, carrying something of their former life while entering another.
The forms are cast in Florentine bronze, sterling silver or gold by a family-run foundry in Florence before returning to the studio, where each piece is individually finished by hand.
By developing my own wax mixtures, tools and working methods, I cultivate surfaces and forms that would not emerge through conventional processes. The resulting textures, irregularities, and traces become part of each object’s identity, preserving the gestures and transformations that shaped it and contributing to a distinctive material language.
