Onno Boekhoudt/ why not jewellery? Catalogus

This catalogue ‘Onno Boekhoudt/why not jewellery?’ accompanies a similarly-named exhibition that marks the award of the Françoise van den Bosch Prize 1996 to Onno Boekhoudt. This prize was instituted by the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation as a tribute to jewellery designers who distinguish themselves in some unusual way within the profession.

Onno Boekhoudt prefers to see himself as an artist involved with jewellery as a theme, rather than as a jewellery designer. Although his objects are created using traditional precious metal techniques, Boekhoudt’s jewellery reveals an affinity with sculpture. This relationship with the visual arts is not the result of his objects being miniature sculptures; it is more the way he explores and uses the spatial qualities of the material in the creation of his own typical shapes.