Jiro Kamata
Jiro Kamata was born in 1978 to a family of jewelers in the ancient city of Hirosaki, situated in northern Japan. Despite his family origins, he instinctively resisted going into the jewelry industry. In 2000, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Otto Künzli, who was then recognized for his progressive artistic development. Underlying all his break-through creation is an archeology in which the condensation of special moments – as the macrocosmos – exist through the transformation from each ordinary life into an embrace of all possibilities, combining them with a keen attempt to continue a monumental memory.
｜Biography｜
1978 Born in Hirosaki, Japan. Second son to family that owned and operated the Kamata Watch Shop (currently known as Jewelry Kamata).
1996–98 Yamanashi Institute of Gemology and Jewellery Art, Kofu, Japan 1998 Relocation to Germany
1998–99 Hochschule für Gestaltung Pforzheim with Prof. Rudolf Bott and Prof. Johanna Dahm, Germany
2000–06 Academy of Fine Arts Munich with Prof. Otto Künzli, Germany 2004 Meisterschüler at Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany 2005– Studio in Munich
2006 Diploma at Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany 2009–2015 Artistic Assistant at Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Department of Jewellery, Germany
｜Design Project｜
2018 Designed STACK collection for the jewellery brand I Do / HIERSUN, Beijing, China
｜Awards｜
1998 Excellence Prize, Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition, Japan
2003 Jury Prize, Itami International Craft Exhibition, Japan
2006 City of Goldsmith, City of Hanau, Germany
2011 Förderpreis Award, City of Munich, Germany
2017 Bavarian Studio Grant Program for Artists, Munich, Germany
2019 Grant from Prinzregent-Luitpold Stiftung, Munich, Germany
｜Workshops｜
2007 Snap Shot, Staatliche Zeichenakademie, Hanau, Germany 2009 Snap Shot, Hiko-Mizuno College of Jewelry, Tokyo, Japan 2011 Snap Shot, Konstfack / University College of Arts,
Crafts and Design, Stockholm, Sweden
2012 MA, Magali Anidjar Studio, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2013 Traveling Workshop, A piece of reality, Mexico City / Guadalajara, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; San Jose, Costa Rica
2015 A piece of reality, College of Art and Design, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
Mirror, mirror on the wall, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia 2018 Mirror, mirror on the wall, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia
Mirror, mirror on the wall, WALKA Studio, Santiago, Chile
｜Public Collections｜
Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Germany
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany
Museum Art. Plus Fundation, Donaueschingen, Germany
Jakob Bengel-Stiftung, Idar-Oberstein, Germany
Hiko-Mizuno Collection, Tokyo, Japan
Alice and Louis Koch Ring Collection, Basel, Switzerland
Espace Solidor, Musée du Bijoux, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France Helen Drutt Collection, Philadelphia, USA
Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, USA
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City, USA
Gallery of Art Legnica, Legnica, Poland
Françoise van den Bosch Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Marzee Collection, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
ALIEN Art, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
｜Publications｜
2008 MOMENTOPIA: Jiro Kamata. Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau
2012ARBORESQUE: Jiro Kamata. Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München
｜Solo Exhibitions｜
2005 BLENDABLE. OONA Galerie, Berlin, Germany Dunstkreis #3: Cultural Supermarket. With Akira Onishi, Pestalozzistraße 24, Munich, Germany
2006 EXTROVERT. Diploma Exhibition. Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany
EXTROVERT. O-Jewel, Tokyo, Japan
2008 MOMENTOPIA. Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany
MOMENTOPIA. Klimt02 gallery, Barcelona, Spain MOMENTOPIA.
OONA Galerie, Berlin, Germany MOMENTOPIA. O-Jewel, Tokyo, Japan
FULL DUPLEX. With Stefan Heuser, Ornamentum gallery, Hudson, USA
THINGS OF VALUE. Harappa gallery, Hirosaki, Japan
2009 MOMENTOPIA. Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ZEITFASSUNGEN. With Bettina Speckner, Eva Maisch Schmuck, Würzburg, Germany
MOMENTOPIA. Hnoss gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden
2010 MOMENTOPIA. Galería Mexicana de Diseño, Mexico City, Mexico MOMENTOPIA. Galerie Bijouterie Jungblut, Luxembourg
ARBORESQUE. Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany
2011 ARBORESQUE. SOFA New York by Ornamentum gallery, USA
ARBORESQUE. galerie viceversa, Lausanne, Switzerland
ARBORESQUE. O-Jewel, Tokyo, Japan
2012 ARBORESQUE. gallery vivekkevin, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
ARBORESQUE. Gallery Pascale, Stockholm, Sweden
2013 ARBORESQUE. Galeria Nudo, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
BI. OONA Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2014 BI. Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BI. O-Jewel, Tokyo, Japan
2015 DARK TO LIGHT TO DARK. Gallery Funaki, Melbourne, Australia AROUND AND AROUND. Villa Bengel, Idar-Oberstein, Germany BORDER. Klimt02 gallery, Barcelona, Spain
2016 FLARE. Collective Design Fair with Ornamentum gallery, New York City, USA
FLARE. ATTA gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
JIRO KAMATA. Four gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden
GHOST. Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017 EMERGE. Galerie Beyond, Antwerp, Belgium
GHOST. Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany
GHOST. OONA Galerie, Berlin, Germany
MULTIPLE-SOLO. multiple, Hasselt, Belgium
2018 BATTLE OF MAGENTA. With Noon Passama, super+ CENTERCOUT, Munich, Germany
EXPOSITION. Galerie Bijouterie Jungblut, Luxembourg
MOTHER. Galerie Rob Koudijs, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2019 EXTENDED DEFINITION. Gallery Funaki, Melbourne, Australia VOICES. ALIEN Art Centre, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
｜Selected Group Exhibitions｜
1999 Vom Geist des Schmucks. Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany
2000 Talente 2000. Sonderschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, Germany
2001 Mikromegas. Galerie für angewandte Kunst, Munich, Germany; American Craft Museum, New York, USA
2003 Corporal Identity: Körpersprache. 9. Triennale für Form und Inhalte. Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Museum of Arts & Design, New York, USA
2004 Dunstkreis: das darfst du – das darfst du nicht. Luisenstraße 55, Munich, Germany
3 Schools Project. Replaces – Keyplaces. Amsterdam, Munich, Tokyo: Juweel. St. Nicolaaskapel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Pedaloop. Dianatempel im Hofgarten, Munich, Germany; Synchronize. Gallery YU, Tokyo, Japan
2006 KORU 2. International Contemporary Jewellery. South-Karelia Art Museum, Lappeenranta, Finland
Designer’s Catalogue 12 – Metaphor/Design. Design Gallery 1953, Tokyo, Japan
2007 Sakura. O-Jewel. Tokyo, Japan
2008 Des Wahnsinns fette Beute. Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich, Germany
2009 Schmuck 2009. Sonderschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, Germany
2010 Copy and Paste. Xuzhou Museum of Art, Xuzhou, China
2011 Schmuck 2011. Sonderschau Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, Germany
Förderpreis 2011. Lothringer13 Halle, Munich, Germany
2012 Unexpected Pleasures. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; The Design Museum, London, UK
2013 Schmuck 2013. Sonderschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, Germany
2014 Danner Rotunde. Schmuck in der Pinakothek der Moderne. Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich, Germany
Multiple Exposures: Jewelry and Photography. Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, USA
Precious Mechanisms. Vietnam Women’s Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam
2015 KORU 5. International Contemporary Jewellery. Imatra Art Museum, Imatra, Finland
Body Alchemy / 2015 Contemporary International Jewelry and Metal Arts Triennial. Museum of Art in China, Academy of Art,
Hangzhou, China
2016 Schmuck 2016. Sonderschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, Germany
2017 Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City, USA
HD-Treasure. Elisabethstraße 16, Munich, Germany
2018 Regard sur le Japon. Espace Solidor, Musèe du Bijoux,
Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
The Language of things: Meaning and Value in Contemporary Jewellery. The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand 50 Jahre Galerie Handwerk München. Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany
Meister der Moderne 2018. Sonderschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, Germany
2019 Zona Maco-Mexican Contemporary Art Fair. Trece sin 3, Mexico City, Mexico
Non-Stick Nostalgia. Museum of Arts and Design,
New York City, USA
New Glass Now. Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, USA
｜Co-Curated Exhibitions｜
2008 Attacke die Waldfee. Wittenbrink Fünfhöfe, Munich, Germany
Curators: Alexander Blank, Stefan Heuser,
Christian Hoedl, Jiro Kamata
2009 Oben Hart oder der Abschied vom Ösensystem,
Wittenbrink Fünfhöfe. Munich, Germany Curators: Alexander Blank, Stefan Heuser, Christian Hoedl, Jiro Kamata
2011 Rebellen der Liebe. Kunstarkaden, Munich, Germany Curators: Alexander Blank, Stefan Heuser,
Christian Hoedl, Jiro Kamata
2015 Lux is the Dealer. Kunstpavillon, Munich, Germany
Curators: Alexander Blank, Kiko Gianocca, Stefan Heuser,
Melanie Isverding, Jiro Kamata, Noon Passama 2016 everyday epics. Kunstpavillon, Munich, Germany
Curators: Alexander Blank, Kiko Gianocca, Sophie Hanagarth, Jing He, Jiro Kamata, Florian Weichsberger