Jürgen Steinau Exhibition in Berlin Museum

[Kevin Wilkins]

Knifemaker Jürgen Steinau is one of four artists whose work is featured in the exhibition

Metal Arts & Crafts
Contemporary Works by Four Berlin Artists

The show runs from 27th May to 4th September, 2011
in the Museum For Arts & Crafts Köpenick Castle
in Berlin

Here's a link (German language but with a pic) for more info.

If you're in or around Berlin during this time, it's a cool museum and should be an interesting show!

http://www.smb.museum/smb/kalender/details.php?objID=29662

 

[ddd]

Thanks for bringing our attention to this exhibit, Kevin!
Wish it were a little closer, though...

Jurgen Steinau is no doubt one of the prominent sharp object
artists in the world and is considered a stand-alone discipline in
the world of modern custom knifemaking.

For those few who may not be familiar with his unique work,
here is a sampling from one of my books.

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

Great pics David!
In addition to his fantastic work, Jürgen is one of the nicest, most generous people in the world. I'm looking forward to the exhibition.

 

[betzner]

What a wonderful exhibition it must be - oooh, I would love to see a display of Jurgen Steinau's knives in person. What a perfectly wonderful reason to go to Germany!

Bob

 

[Kohai999]

Jurgen Steinau is no doubt one of the prominent sharp object
artists in the world and is considered a stand-alone discipline in
the world of modern custom knifemaking.

David Darom (ddd)

I used to feel that way too David.

Then I handled Phil Lobred's "Credit Card" knife. It has a gold handle, nice inlay and is DULLER than a butter knife. I mean I SAWED on my arm, trying to cut it....no dice.

I find that simply one of the most reprehensible acts that a KNIFEMAKER can commit....not deliver the knife sharp....only sharp knives are interesting.

It is an affront to every maker that has toiled to perfect the heat treat, grind the knife to perfection, and learn as much as they can about the steel, for a knife to be delivered dull.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[betzner]

STeven, then I take it you don't care for Steinau's knives?

Bob

 

[Kohai999]

STeven, then I take it you don't care for Steinau's knives?Bob

I love them as knife-like sculpture....whereas I completely hate Chantal Gilbert's or Frankie Flood's knife-like sculpture(both featured in DDD books, btw)..... could TECHNICALLY be called knives....it's kind of an insult to the other knifely knives.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[betzner]

I love them as knife-like sculpture....whereas I completely hate Chantal Gilbert's or Frankie Flood's knife-like sculpture(both featured in DDD books, btw)..... could TECHNICALLY be called knives....it's kind of an insult to the other knifely knives.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

Glad you expanded on that, Steven, and separated the artform from the tool, not always an easy thing to do, esp. for me.

Bob

 

[Kohai999]

Glad you expanded on that, Steven, and separated the artform from the tool, not always an easy thing to do, esp. for me.

Bob

I think it is important to judge knives as knives....but also accept that sometimes that they are simply not that thing.

Part of the problem is that Jurgen's work is very embellished, but looks like a knife, so you would expect it to do knifely things, to be a knife and it cannot.

There have been many other instances when you would expect sharp points and edges, Virgil England Battle axes, art daggers by many makers, and then you, BOOM, are surprised that you don't even have a proper letter opener and everything that you have come to believe about knives is turned 180 degrees, and you question the Meaning of Life.

I have come to decide that a knife has an edge/s and a point, and I don't question the Meaning of Life anymore....but do occasionally question the Meaning of Fast Food.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[ddd]

Actually, Steven, Jurgen himself refers to his creations
as "Sharp Art Objects" or "Pointed Art Objects"...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

Steven, Jürgen isn't a "knifemaker" in the sense you're using when criticizing him.

For example, you won't find any rope hanging fron tree branches in his backyard where he's been doing cutting tests or YouTube videos of people batoning his stuff through 2x4s. Hint hint.

cause...

His work isn't about that and I've never heard anyone criticize it your terms before. Jürgens collectors know this; seems just about everybody who sees his stuff knows this.

Your comment about Jürgen's work is like soomeone standing in from of a Chagal saying "My kid can draw better than that." There really isn't anything to discuss: Either you get it or you don't.

Or are you just pulling out collective leg? You generally seem like a pretty -sharp- guy.

 

[Kohai999]

Or are you just pulling out(sic) collective leg? You generally seem like a pretty -sharp- guy.

I'm serious...it's a problem. Just because no one ever criticized it on a public forum before does not negate the observation or make it invalid.

We are not talking about performance or performance driven work here....we are talking about "sharp".....a very simple concept. I get it, and I don't accept it, don't care for it, wouldn't champion it.

I'm the same way with 98% of Harumi Hirayama's work. The beauty is in the handle, and the blade is mostly an afterthought......I may be the only collector on the planet that finds issue with that, and don't really care if others think that's nuts.

Larry Fuegen GETS it....knife first, embellishment once that is squared away....doesn't make him any less of an artist, but it sure makes him a knifemaker, first and foremost.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[ddd]

Good Thread, Kevin W. and Steven. It is a discussion that had to be
aired sometime... The nice thing about this one, as I see it, is that
everyone so far is right depending on the starting point...
In all cases I am sure that everybody will agree to what Don Guild
wrote about Jurgen (in one of my books ) :

"...In full sunlight, I sit staring at a Jürgen Steinau knife, transfixed by the
tapering lines that converge on the focal point of infinity. Am I speeding
through a distant galaxy? No, I’m on a visual trip thorough a labyrinth of
tiny rectangles and triangles — not to be seen elsewhere in the world
of art knives..."

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[hoyer]

Thanks for informing us on this exhibition, I will definately try to go! Jürgen Steinau is a fantastic knifemaker, I absolutely love his work although I probably never will have the chance to own one.
Here are some (bad) pictures I took of knives (some of his older work) of his that reside at the Klingenmuseum in Solingen.

Greetings from Belgium,

Pedro

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

I went to the opening of the ehibition last night and made a few pics. Keep in mind that the knives were in glass cases and I couldn't use a tripod or a flash but I did the best I could.

I also made a couple of shots of the entrance to the museum and the small wing that houses the show. Hopefully a few folks from this forum will have the chance to drop by – and at least everyone will get to see something!

There were a lot of people there but I got one shot of the main hall when everyone was listening to the speeches in another room!

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

...and five more pics!

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

and the next five pics

 

[ddd]

That, Kevin, is one of the most amazing displays of Jurgen's sharp art
ever found in one place!!!
Are the pieces part of one amazing collection or were they contributed
by several collectors for this once-in-a-lifetime display?

Wow!

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[Marcel54]

I think of Steinau's pieces as art first and knife last. It's about Form follows Function or in Juergen's case Function follows Form. So for me he makes beautiful objets d'art but they are not necessarily knives.

Kevin, great photos; it looks like a nice show.

Marcel

Marcel

 

[Lorien]

it's good to see knives on display as Art in a museum, as opposed to seeing knives on display as antiquities in a museum. Seems like a step in the right direction toward custom knives gaining acceptance and appreciation by those who may have never known there was such a thing otherwise.