Silverware inspired by Switzerland
- Barbara makes silver bowls, tableware, religious vessels and sculptures
- She strives for a perfect blend of compelling design and skilful execution
- She also restores silverware, aiming to preserve an object's authenticity
Forging, raising, mounting, brazing, casting, surface refinishing... Barbara Amstutz masters all traditional silversmithing techniques, with which she creates artistically designed contemporary silverwork in her studio near Basel. She initially pursued academia, studying history, philosophy and comparative religious studies at university, but she never stopped being creative, and subsequently decided to commit herself entirely to metalwork. After years of training in Switzerland and abroad, she opened her own workshop in 2006. She enjoys the challenge of working silver by hand and by machine to create contemporary designs with traditional techniques, inspired by Switzerland and Swiss culture.
Interview
- Do you use any special tools and techniques?
- My most important tools are hammers, stakes and anvils in various shapes and sizes, and the fire for annealing and brazing silver. Every object I create is crafted by casting, forging, raising and mounting. The appearance is modern, but the techniques I use are ancient.
- What inspires you?
- Everything around me, such as architecture, literature, anatomy, mathematics and geometry, as well as childhood memories, the physical properties of metal, and antique silverworks.
- What do you love most about what you do?
- I adore hammer work: shaping the metal with various hammers, by forging, raising, sinking, stretching. For me, pursuing an idea all the way from the first design sketch to the finished metal creation is a source of endless fascination and delight.
- In what way does metalwork reflect European culture?
- Until the late 18th century, silversmiths were an integral part of Europe’s political and economic life. Drawing inspiration from the long tradition of this ancient craft, my passion is the creation of contemporary silver.
Barbara Amstutz is a master artisan: she began her career in 2003 and she started teaching in 2011
Where
Barbara Amstutz
