David Bielander

《CHIAROSCURO》 Installation View (1) – ⓒ Galerie Zink_Fotos Erich Spahn

The illusion of three-dimensionality—of depth and volume—emerges in painting through the interplay of light (chiaro) and dark (oscuro). Artists like Caravaggio and Rembrandt mastered this technique: in their works, scenes gradually emerge from darkness as the viewer’s eyes adjust to the shadow. Light and shadow depend on each other—opposites, yet inseparable. Their tension creates drama and vitality; their interaction reveals what lies hidden.

《CHIAROSCURO》 Installation View (2) – ⓒ Galerie Zink_Fotos Erich Spahn

In the work of David Bielander, this principle of chiaroscuro is brought to life in a sculptural, rather than painterly, sense. Visibility encounters concealment; the obvious gives way to the ambiguous. His works thrive on contrasts: between material and appearance, lightness and weight, playfulness and profundity.

《CHIAROSCURO》 Installation View (3) – ⓒ Galerie Zink_Fotos Erich Spahn

David Bielander, born in Basel in 1968 and now based in Munich, is one of the most internationally acclaimed jewellery artists of his generation. His practice operates at the intersection of sculpture, conceptual art, and applied design, forming a distinctive artistic language that is both subversive and precise.
At first glance, his objects resemble ordinary items: a cardboard crown, a garden hose, an animal form. But these illusions deceive. What seems banal reveals itself, upon closer inspection, as a meticulously crafted artwork—made from precious materials like silver, gold, or titanium. 

《CHIAROSCURO》 Installation View (4) – ⓒ Galerie Zink_Fotos Erich Spahn

Bielander plays with perception, challenges expectations, and questions what we think we see. His pieces are much more than jewellery: they are wearable sculptures, social sculptures that come fully to life only through interaction with the body and the viewer. Just as light in chiaroscuro needs shadow to define form, Bielander’s works require a counterpart—wearing, seeing, responding—to be complete.

His practice is deeply rooted in the exploration of dualities: light and heavy, real and fake, trivial and valuable, private and public. With subtle humour and refined craftsmanship, he transforms the small into the significant, the everyday into the uncanny.
As in chiaroscuro, the true depth in Bielander’s work arises from polarity. His pieces live in the space between illusion and substance, surface and depth, individuality and social context—shedding light on the hidden layers of how we see and relate.

《CHIAROSCURO》 Installation View (6) – ⓒ Galerie Zink_Fotos Erich Spahn

This exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of 30 years of Bielander’s artistic practice—revealing how the fusion of art, craftsmanship, and concept can create a body of work that defies categorisation, yet resonates deeply.

Galerie Zink

Waldkirchen 2 92358 Seubersdorf i. d. OPf. Germany

+49 (0) 8460 9010925

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