Ted Noten is celebrating his 30th anniversary as a jewelry designer/artist this year. In honor of this, his work will be on display at Museum JAN from October 4, 2023, through February 4, 2024. Noten raises questions about the function of jewelry, including themes such as value, originality, and status. These themes are also reflected in his installations and performances, as well as in the work of both emerging and established artists represented in this exhibition.
Ted Noten (1956)
Noten trained as a jewelry designer at the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He gained fame with his bags and jewelry, in which objects such as pistols, jewels, and even dead animals, such as a chameleon, were cast in blocks of acrylic (PMMA).
In his creative quest, Ted Noten challenges the established order and sacred cows, but always with a healthy dose of humor. The world is his studio; inspiration can come from long journeys or chance encounters, but also from the streets of the Dutch city of Den Bosch. On the one hand, Noten can be characterized as down-to-earth and humorous, but on the other hand, he is critical. This unique combination means that his opinions on his own field and social issues can be quite critical. The materials he uses (such as chewing gum and acrylic) are unconventional and surprising. Examples include Noten's famous bag with a revolver, cast in acrylic, and the brooches that buyers could model themselves from chewing gum.
Ted Noten, Grandma's Bag, 2009, private collection, photo Atelier Ted Noten and Ted Noten, Chastity Belt, 2012, collection Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, photo Atelier Ted Noten
Recent works
Ted Noten & co. also displays Noten's most recent work: twelve Incubators, a series of jewelry pieces dedicated to personalities who inspired him. In each piece, he expresses what that person evoked in him, such as disgust, admiration, or emotion. The emotions that Lady Gaga, Spock from Star Trek, or the first female bricklayer evoked in Noten are now on display at Museum JAN.
Would you like to exchange your ring?
Ted Noten and Museum JAN invite visitors to participate in the installation 'Would you like to exchange your ring?'. You can exchange your ring for a 3D-printed Miss Piggy ring by Noten. This installation has already been shown in several other cities, and the result was different everywhere. The rings submitted are part of the large-scale project The ring defines a city / The ring defines a culture. What value will Amstelveen assign to the ring?
& co.
Museum JAN has curated the exhibition based on themes that Noten grapples with: originality, value, choice of materials, and status. He is not alone in this; other artists and designers, whether at the beginning of their careers or in the middle of them, experience this too. That is why they accompany Noten in the exhibition.
Contributors to the exhibition: Ted Noten & co. – worth their weight in gold:
Maarten Bel, Merle Bergers, Elsemarijn Bruys, Koos Buster, Das Leben am Haverkamp, Yamuna Forzani, Corrina Goutos, Kalkidan Hoex, Bastienne Kramer, Tirzo Martha, Jelle Mastenbroek, Ted Noten, Joyce Overheul, Lex Pott, Saar Scheerlings, Joana Schneider, Anton Shebetko, Sebastiaan Straatsma, Sanne Terweij, Studio Lernert & Sander, Georgina Treviño, Mart Veldhuis, Sander Wassink.
