The most beautiful, original or striking pieces of jewellery often come in non-precious materials.
Denise J. Reytan’s perfectly fit this description as they are mainly made using aggregates of everyday objects, such as plastic toys, keys, marbles and clocks.
Reytan studied at the Technical College for Jewellery and Object Design, part of the Goldsmith School, in Pforzheim, also known as the “Gold City”, the centre of the German jewellery and watch making industries.
After three years, Reytan moved to the University of Applied Science in Düsseldorf where she focused on jewellery, graphics and photography, graduating two years ago.
Since then she has been working in Berlin as a freelance designer and jewellery artist and, in the last few years, she has been experimenting with silicone casting, a method that allows her to create original pieces that display her fascination with colours, forms and materials.
Would you describe your jewels as wearable pieces of art?
Denise J. Reytan: Yes, absolutely. They are unique artworks with a concept behind, but they are also very wearable. In my opinion, jewellery is poetry for the body, jewels are three-dimensional sculptures that have a connection with the body, they help us expressing our personalities and feelings. Jewellery is even closer to our body and soul than clothes because we often wear it in direct contact with our skin, around our neck, wrist or finger or even through our bodies, if you think about the piercing technique. In a way, we sort of shape our own selves via jewellery, that’s why it should be acknowledged as a form of art. A lot of people see jewellery as an industry focused on trends, but there are so many avant-garde artists out there producing highly crafted conceptual pieces.
Is aggregation one of the inspirations behind your jewellery making?
Denise J. Reytan: Yes, it is. I always try to connect different things together in one piece of jewellery. All these little objects form small landscapes in which one element sparks up a dialogue with the one next to it. It is a bit like creating a brand new world in which a fantasy story takes place. I usually try to connect pieces together in a sort of three-dimensional way, stitching, bonding and knotting together little objects, chains, plastic, pearls, stones and random finds. I would say I paint using materials: I have all my silver and plastic casts, my finds, cables, ropes and gemstones around me on my workspace and I start combining them following colour codes. This is usually a very personal and poetic moment since I follow my instincts and, in the end, as if by magic, every little part fits with the other.
You created also some pieces in silicone, what fascinates you about this material?
Denise J. Reytan: Silicone is a very easy material to work with since it’s flexible. The silicone casting method offered me new possibilities to unite my aggregates in one piece. Through this technique I combine, connect and share different pieces such as my mother’s beloved jewellery bought during her trips, my old brooches, presents, finds from flea markets and old toys. My jewellery is about the beauty of non-precious materials and objects, because I connect precious and non-precious objects together in one piece, trying to bring harmony between old and new, natural and synthetic materials.
You collect fancy objects: what’s the most bizarre piece you have?
Denise J. Reytan: I have a fifteen year-old piece of graffiti jewellery made of bread and a Japanese mobile phone bought 14 years ago…
Your desktop looks like a colourful chaos, do you prefer working in a chaotic environment?
Denise J. Reytan: That’s the famous creative chaos! For my creative work I need such an environment, though that usually happens naturally and cannot be avoided. I need my colours and materials – what I call my own “playground” – all around me.
You did a few installations so far, which one did you enjoy best?
Denise J. Reytan: The “Consumwave” installation. I did it in a big department store in Düsseldorf in 2008. It was a bit like being in a film since I was allowed to walk alone through different departments after closing time, picking fascinating and interesting stuff according to their colours, shapes or materials. I got funny carpets, plastic dishes, crazy kitchenware, coloured pots, glossy glass vases, cleaning mops and buckets, balls, sponges and pillows, then mixed everything together. The installation was about the unconditional beauty of everyday things. I like showing my installations in urban spaces so that everybody can see them.
For your “EINTR8” project you redesigned traditional costumes that seem to have a transnational quality about them, what inspired the costumes?
Denise J. Reytan: I tried to design traditional costumes for people living in our modern times. The costumes in this project do not represent one culture in particular, they represent the different cultures and multicultural environments surrounding us. I envisaged the costumes as a sort of representation of the melting pot, combining the traditional aspects of the costumes with the spirit of our times, mixing together modern and traditional characteristics, shapes, materials, techniques and patterns. 
“Eintracht” in German means harmony while “acht” means eight, a number that also represents infinity. So “EINTR8” essentially indicates a new, traditional and harmonious costume displaying a brotherly sense of union, with no time, culture, age, status and language borders, but connecting the people of this world through beauty.
How many collections do you design every year?
Denise J. Reytan: About one or two, it depends, since at times I may be working on other projects. I do not create Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter collections since I do not follow any trends, but my jewellery, concepts and ideas are timeless and are not linked to any specific season.
How did the “Poems for the Body” exhibition go? Are you going to take part in any exhibitions this Autumn/Winter?
Denise J. Reytan: I will show works in Amsterdam in November and perhaps in the U.S. “Poems for the Body” was a nice exhibition. It was fun as we had a lot of visitors and I got a lot of nice feedback. They liked the jewellery installation and also the big yellow chain made of vulcanised rubber in the window of the gallery looked cool. I’m actually looking forward to organising further art exhibitions.
Is there a contemporary jewellery designer you particularly like?
Denise J. Reytan: I really love Iris Bodemer and Mirjam Hiller’s poetic jewellery.
Where can we buy your pieces?
Denise J. Reytan: You can contact me by email, but you can find my pieces also at Gallery Schmuckfrage in Berlin, Gallery Werft11 in Cologne and Colette in Paris, while there are also some concept stores around the world selling my T1MEPEACE watch bracelets.
Essential Mix Photographs by M. Fischinger; installations and other images by D.J.Reytan
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