Ann-Kathrin Kuhn creates wearable and collectible objects between Florence and Zurich.
Drawing on histories of art and craftsmanship, material research, and motifs of the natural world, Kuhn’s work moves at the intersection of art, design, and contemporary jewelry, exploring symbolic, utilitarian and mystical dimensions of adornment across different scales.
Ann-Kathrin Kuhn is an evolving universe of collectible objects, jewelry editions, and the stories that weave them together..
Through exhibitions and collaborations with contemporary art galleries, concept stores, and temporary spaces, Kuhn presents small series and editions to be worn or collected.
Rooted in the ancient process of Cire Perdue, the practice begins with sculpting in wax or gathered forms, textures and traces: twigs, shells, seeds, fabrics, fragments, which are collected, labelled, and preserved in an archive in the studio.
Working in small editions and pièces uniques, developing her own wax mixtures, tools and working methods, Kuhn cultivates surfaces and forms that would not emerge through conventional processes. The objects are slowly handcrafted between the studio in Zurich, then cast in bronze, sterling silver or gold by a family-run foundry in Florence – each piece is individually finished by hand.
Through their final metal state, these fleeting forms are given another timescale, carrying something of their former life while entering another.
