OTTO JAKOB
Radical German jewellery designer and self-taught goldsmith Otto Jakob brings his artist’s life to play in his creations, engaging in what he calls a “duel between elaborate archaic techniques and futuristic ideas”.
Otto says this artistic duel is well illustrated in his latest work — a pendant in the shape of a grass carp trying to twist itself free from a grasping, whiteenamelled hand. The piece is more importantly an illustration of his mastery at intricacy and an obsession with detail: decked with a miniature diamond bracelet and a pair of diamond and tourmaline rings, the enamelled hand even has tattoos of golden droplets, while the carp’s engraved scales are covered with translucent enamel and its eyes are rock crystal lenses underlaid with engraved discs of partially oxidized white gold.
“When I studied painting, my teacher was the controversial artist and sculptor Georg Baselitz, and I learnt radicalism from him,” Otto shares. “This has guided me ever since, and my decisions are always as an artist and not as a dealer.” This artistic pursuit means that he strives to conceal the preciousness of the materials: “I develop stylistics that hide instead of highlight their value — exciting for a connoisseur, but unappealing for a thief.”
Asked what fans can expect from him in the future, he responds in typical Otto Jakob fashion: “Reduction to the essentials.”
For more information, visit www.ottojakob.de.