Christine Matthias

At first glance, Christine Matthias’ Brooch (2015) feels like a small monument that is quiet, deliberate, and certain of its form. Made of silver and ebony, the piece balances light against the dark with precision. The top section, a smooth panel of deep ebony, anchors the composition. Beneath it, a sheet of silver opens up like a horizon, soft and reflective. A perfect ring of hollow silver cylinders sits slightly raised from the surface, forming a circle that feels mechanical and tender. This piece is an emblem of continuity and remembrance.

There’s a restraint here that feels deeply personal. Matthias doesn’t chase ornament or narrative; instead, she builds presence through proportion and surface. The geometry is controlled but never rigid. Tiny irregularities in the silver, the subtle shift of each cylinder’s height, and the gentle curve of the edges reveal the artist’s hand. The work becomes a meditation on precision and intentional private perfection. a reminder that memory itself is shaped by touch, revision, and time.

Matthias’ jewelry often moves between the visible and the concealed, using silver’s luminosity and ebony’s darkness to explore that space between clarity and shadow. In this brooch, that tension feels almost architectural: the dark top reads like a lintel, the silver plane like an altar. Together, they create a structure that holds a soft emotion without ever naming it.

Matthias often describes her silver brooches as quiet memorials. Here, the circular cluster functions like a wreath. She works almost exclusively in silver, valuing its bright, nearly white aura and its resistance under the hammer. The brooch’s clarity comes from classical goldsmithing methods of raising, soldering, chasing. The hollow construction keeps the scale generous without excess weight, so the piece sits broadly on the garment with a stable center of gravity. Worn, the dark crown and bright field create a calm, legible sign, while the circular tubes catch light in motion.

Born in Celle, Germany, and trained in the jewelry class of Dorothea Prühl at Burg Giebichenstein, Matthias works between jewelry and object. Her vocabulary favors silver, occasional darkening, and carefully placed accents that interrupt graphic order. This brooch from 2015 shows those concerns in their most distilled state.

References

Galerie Marzee. “Christine Matthias.” Accessed August 18, 2025.
https://www.marzee.nl/artists/christine-matthias.

Art Aurea. “Christine Matthias.” Accessed August 18, 2025.
https://artaurea.com/artists/christine-matthias.

Kunststiftung Sachsen-Anhalt. “Christine Matthias.” Accessed August 18, 2025.
https://www.kunststiftung-sachsen-anhalt.de/project/christine-matthias.

Galerie Rosemarie Jäger. “Christine Matthias.” Accessed August 18, 2025.
https://www.galerie-jaeger.de/artists/christine-matthias.

Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig. “Christine Matthias.” Accessed August 18, 2025.
https://www.grassimak.de/en/exhibitions/christine-matthias.