Ruudt Peters
Ruudt Peters has been making contemporary jewellery since the early 1970s. His work goes beyond decoration: each piece is made to be worn, but also to create a direct connection between the object and the person wearing it. Often sculptural in character, his jewellery encourages people to look at materials, form and the meaning of adornment in a different way.
Peters develops his work through research, drawing and hands-on experimentation in the studio. Religion, philosophy and alchemy are recurring points of reference in his practice, alongside his interest in how different cultures give form to questions of life, death and human existence. He does not illustrate these ideas literally; instead, he translates them into personal, often unexpected forms and materials. Each series develops its own language, from small and precise works to more expressive, unconventional pieces.
Over the course of his career, Peters has shown his work internationally and has taught at leading art and jewellery schools in Europe. His work is held in collections including Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand; MUDAC, Lausanne, Switzerland; Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA; MUDE – Museu do Design e da Moda, Lisbon, Portugal; Swiss National Museum, Zurich, Switzerland; CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands; Museum Arnhem, the Netherlands; The Marzee Collection, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany; Design Museum Tallinn, Estonia; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, USA; Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, USA; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France; RISD Museum, Providence, USA; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
