Karl Fritsch

German jeweler Karl Fritsch is celebrated by collectors of jewelry and art alike for his prolific oeuvre composed almost entirely of rings.  Each creation is a unique artwork, the designs coming- in the artist’s words- “directly from the gut”.  Fritsch plays by his own rules, simultaneously embracing and discarding the age-old traditions that define jewelry in our minds.  Combining precious and ordinary materials with ease, gold, diamonds, and rubies find themselves juxtaposed with imitation or plastic stones, steel nails or may even be set to look like eyes in a face with a protruding tongue.  Gemstones may be set with screws or hanging off a keyring, and massive blocks of gold might be hammered or sculpted with the playfulness of a child.