Ted Noten
Born in 1956 in Swalmen, The Netherlands, Ted Noten is a Dutch conceptual artist and jewellery designer based in The Netherlands. His work critically engages with contemporary life, religion, conformity, the history of jewellery and design, often using irony to challenge conventions and blur the boundaries between art, design, sculpture and architecture. Notable pieces include his Turbo Princess pendant - a mouse wearing a pearl necklace, made for a thematic exhibition on pearl necklaces at Marzee in 1995 - and solid acrylic handbags or suitcases encasing guns, which have become iconic in contemporary jewellery. Noten’s themes frequently explore violence, sexuality, vanity, vulnerability, and the tension between mass production and craftsmanship. His work is held in major museum collections worldwide, including the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London). He has exhibited extensively in solo and group shows across Europe and the US, with recent exhibitions such as Vanitas aka Me and My Table (2020, Rademakers Gallery, Amsterdam), Appreciated a.k.a. Waardering (2025, Museum Arnhem) and his retrospective 36 Years on the Move / aka Route 36 (2026, Galerie Marzee).
