Bernhard Schobinger

Bernhard Schobinger is a Swiss contemporary artist jeweler.

Early life and education
Bernhard Schobinger attended the School of Applied Arts in Zürich for two years, followed by Goldsmith's apprenticeship between 1963 and 1967. In 1968, he opened a workshop-gallery in Richterswil and started to produce his own work. In the 80s he spent periods of time in London, New York and Berlin.

Career and work
Throughout his career as an art jeweler, Schobinger has blurred the lines between applied and fine arts. His esthetic echoes Concrete art mainly under the influence of Max Bill, Punk culture of the 70s, Italian arte povera and Neo-Dada.

Often playing with contrasts, Schobinger's single pieces are made of material which varies greatly from recycled objects and pieces inherited from his mother to precious metals and gemstones. Broken glasses, scissors or rusty material are used in a provocative way, making jewelry a means for a narrative on material culture.

"As the art historian Roger Fayet put it, 'His works are based not on 'neither-nor' but rather on 'both... and', on juxtaposition and interpolation. What comes out of this is - despite all this use of rubbish - jewellery of extraordinary richness: rich in materials and forms, rich in qualities that are sensorily perceived and, most importantly, rich in meanings and wit'."

Schobinger has been invited as a visiting lecturer in a number of Universities and Academies, including the Royal College of Art in London, Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry in Tokyo, the Rhode Island School of Design. the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, the Haute Ecole d'Arts Appliqués in Geneva.

Awards
His work was rewarded with a number of awards. Most recently, in 2007, he received the Swiss Federal Design Award.

Others awards:
 * 1971 Diamonds-International Award, New York
 * 1972 Deutscher Schmuck-und Edelsteinpreis
 * 1994 Werkbeitrag des Kantons und der Stadt Luzern
 * 1998 The Françoise van den Bosch Award

Museum collections

 * Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
 * Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, USA
 * Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, The Netherlands
 * Grassimuseum, Leipzig, Germany
 * Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre, Paris, France
 * Museum of Design, Zürich Switzerland
 * Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States
 * Die Neue Sammlung, The International Design Museum, Munich, Germany
 * Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
 * Royal College of Art, London, UK
 * Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zürich, Switzerland
 * Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
 * The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, United States
 * Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany
 * Victoria and Albert Museum, London
 * Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, Cologne, Germany
 * Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland
 * National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway
 * National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia

Bibliographical references

 * 1) Wilhelm Lindeman, ed. Gemstone/Art. Renaissance to the Present Day. Arnoldsche Art Publishers, 2016. (ISBN 978-3-89790-465-1)
 * 2) Glenn Adamson, "Bernhard Schobinger: The Rings of Saturn", Arnoldische Art Publishers, Stuttgart, Germany 2013. (ISBN 978-3-89790-402-6)
 * 3) Roger Fayet and others, "Bernhard Schobinger: Jewels Now", Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart, Germany 2003. (ISBN 978-3-89790-183-4)
 * 4) "Ornament as art" The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA, Arnoldische Art Publishers, Stuttgart, Germany 2007. (ISBN 978-3-89790-273-2)
 * 5) Helen W. Drutt and Peter Dormer, "Jewelry of our time: Art, Ornament and Obsession", Thames&Hudson, London 1995. (ISBN 9780500016749)
 * 6) David Watkins, "The Best in Contemporary Jewelry", Quarto Publishing plc, London 1993. (ISBN 2-88046-189-8)