Born and based in Germany, Kira Fritsch makes jewelry that interrogates the human obsession with collecting and explores its implications. The objects collected over many years bear witness to the passion of both the collector and the finder, and reference the cultural context from which they were acquired. A collection wants to be gathered, administered, and cared for. But when is a collection complete? And what happens if a collection takes possession of the collector? Fritsch, who trained as a goldsmith, distills the process of collecting into her jewelry: her practice is characterized by the extensive gathering of material, which she arranges, conserves, and stores. The collected material is valued according to aesthetic criteria and intensified to singular jewelry objects, making room for the viewer to initiate new visual associations and thought processes.
