Gold glows as if it emits light; the subtle colours of translucent enamels enrich the silver underneath. In his new work Ralph Bakker once again added new inventions to the age-old repertoire of the goldsmith. Even simple components such as the connecting rings which give a piece of jewellery its coherence and flexibility, are granted a contribution of their own. They may be united into clusters, or grace the flat surfaces of a necklace like the notes Bach wrote to a musical theme.

This time the folding of material has played an important role in developing the new work. Everybody knows the effect that a fold in a sheet of paper gives it a certain strength, Bakker applied this to thinly rolled out metal. By using folding as a visual means, he made necklaces and a bracelet that are both light to wear and sculptural in effect.

As the title of the exhibition already indicates, Ralph Bakker has a great love for patterns. He gets intrigued by natures surface structures and systems of growing, and these designs may easily leave their traces in his work. In spite of their mathematical arrangements the resulting jewellery is surprisingly flexible when you pick them up. Actually that is only natural for an artist who's pieces are always developed with the wearer in mind. Bakker is a maker of whom it is really true that his work reaches its completion when it is actually worn.

Ward Schrijver
(© Galerie Rob Koudijs)