In her artistic practice, Ingrid Rügemer explores material communication – the ways in which materials and objects can communicate beyond language. Drawing on her background in communication design, she investigates how abstract concepts can be experienced through matter, form and embodied engagement rather than through words or images. Her work is driven by an interest in embodied sensemaking, creating situations in which meaning emerges through sensory encounter and interaction with the material world.

Working primarily with ceramics, she combines clay with materials such as metal, glass and fibres, exploring their distinctive qualities and the relationships that arise between them. She understands material not as a passive medium for giving form to ideas but as an active participant in shaping perception, thought and meaning. Through carefully considered forms, textures and material interactions, she creates objects that invite attentive observation and sensory engagement.

Positioned at the intersection of sculpture, craft and design, Rügemer’s practice is rooted in the reciprocal relationship between matter and mind. Her work facilitates embodied sensemaking, allowing personal meaning to emerge through encounters with materials and objects. In doing so, it proposes material communication as a way of making sense of the world. Her work has received several awards and has been exhibited internationally, across Europe.

The exhibition presented the sculptural and textile works of Sylvia Eustache Rools and Jérôme Pereira for the first time in Germany. The French duo collaborate under the name “Awaré”, which stands for the English word “aware”, meaning to be conscious and attentive. It also references the Japanese concept of “mono no aware”, which expresses an awareness of the transience of things and a deep appreciation of their fleeting beauty.

Excerpt from the exhibition text: Sylvia and Jérôme share a deep fascination for geology and a sensitivity for the aesthetics of natural processes of change. Sylvia’s textile works are dedicated to the phenomena of oxidation, and through her multi-layered methods she creates chromatic landscapes that blur the boundaries between artefact and nature. Jérôme brings a scientific understanding from his studies in physics and geophysics together with a poetic sensitivity to matter and the forces of nature to his rough yet graceful wooden sculptures.

As a duo, the two artists create sculptural artefacts that represent an inspirational dialogue between natural transformation processes and the human hand. Their unique objects also convey the constructive collaboration of two artistic personalities who, with their individual approaches and materials, explore permeable boundaries and create new connections.

The exhibition presented sculptural objects by Sara Martinsen alongside her material encyclopaedia on the subject of plant fibres. Martinsen explores the aesthetic and functional potentials of plant fibres, which are of great relevance for the fields of product and textile design, applied art and architecture, especially with regard to transformative change. The exhibition was complemented by an international panel talk. Speakers: Sara Martinsen, Dr. Kirsten Scott, Dr. Svenja Keune, Jess Redgrave.

Excerpt from the exhibition text: In addition to Sara Martinsen’s sculptural pieces, the exhibition presents her extensive collection of materials from the “Phytophilia” encyclopaedia. The Danish designer has archived her collected knowledge about possible applications and ecological background information of these renewable and completely biodegradable raw materials in a digital encyclopaedia in order to make it accessible to a broad public. The fibres are shown in various states: natural and unprocessed; debarked; prepared for further processing; as ready-to-use fabric samples or building material.

The motivation for the long-term project was Martinsen’s desire to gather comprehensive information on sustainable materials and manufacturing processes for her own furniture designs. In addition to conveying knowledge, the designer is primarily interested in increasing sensitivity of the senses. Visitors are therefore invited to experience the exhibits haptically. In doing so, she wants to provide a deeper understanding and sensitivity to the properties of plant fibres and thus generate new impulses for future application scenarios.

The exhibition focused on five artists and designers who, with their approaches, methods and objects, offer inspiring impulses for a more sustainable material culture and encourage future-oriented perspectives. It presented works by renowned artists: Martina Dempf, Emmanuel Heringer, Zena Holloway, Cara Murphy and Jochen Rueth.

Excerpt of the exhibition text: The current global crises show that we need to fundamentally reconsider our ways of thinking and acting as individuals and as a society. Doing so, we must be aware that we do not act in isolation from the physical world. Instead, our perceptions, emotions, social relationships and even our bodies are shaped by the material world that surrounds us, which thus has a significant impact on our thoughts and actions.

Hence, there is a reciprocal relationship between matter and mind, which manifests in our material culture. Consequently, the things we create and surround ourselves with go far beyond form and function: they embody and reflect how we think. Artists and designers have always contributed to shaping material culture, which makes them important players in the context of transformative change.

The exhibition showed contemporary craft in the context of organisational innovation and explored potential insights from creative processes and approaches of artistic practices. It presented eight renowned artists, whose individual methods and exceptional approaches trigger new thinking and make fundamental principles of innovation tangible: Michal Fargo, Stewart Hearn, Emmanuel Heringer, Susanne Holzinger, Cecil Kemperink, Richard McVetis, Laurenz Stockner, and Peter Vogel.

Excerpt exhibition text: Creative thinking, thus the ability to generate ideas and solve complex problems, is generally considered a fundamental driver of innovation. Research shows that creativity needs emotional frameworks and inspirational environments that encourage motivation and openness to change and facilitate the development of a creative attitude.

In this context, aesthetic and sensory factors, as well as symbolic qualities, play an important role. The engagement with contemporary craft, its experimental approaches, its deeply humanistic values and its focus on quality and sustainability offer here a unique proposition – especially in times of increasing anonymisation and standardisation caused by digital change.

Commissioned as a freelance editor, writer, and editorial designer for the bilingual arts and crafts magazine Art Aurea, Ingrid Rügemer shaped the editorial content of the magazine’s Curators’ Choice section and global project. The work included research and coordination with international artists, galleries, and museums; writing and editing feature articles; image editing; and editorial design.

Spanning 20 pages, the Curators’ Choice section features five artists from five different design disciplines and countries: Claudy Jongstra (Netherlands), introduced by Ingeborg de Roode, curator at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Zhao Jinya (China), introduced by Peter Ting, co-founder of Ting-Ying Gallery, London;

Domingos Tótora (Brazil), introduced by Marina Figueiredo, Director of Sage Culture Gallery, Los Angeles; Jérôme Blanc (Switzerland), introduced by Lionel Latham of Galerie Latham, Geneva; and Stefania Lucchetta (Italy), introduced by art historian and curator Nichka Marobin.

In the autumn edition of Art Aurea magazine, the Curators’ Choice section showcases the following five inspiring and innovative artists in contemporary art, craft and design, introduced by some of the most visionary curators and gallerists in the field of material culture: Featured are Ori Orisun Merhav with her avant-garde practice exploring a new materiality that embodies a vision of hope for the future of design and material culture, presented by Sarah Myerscough, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London, UK;

Ptolemy Mann with her vibrant Thread Paintings – textile wall pieces based on a modern Bauhaus philosophy that merges art and design, underpinned by sophisticated colour theory – presented by Monique Deul, Taste Contemporary Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland; Kate Jones with her engraved glass masterpieces that tell stories of nature, transience, and the beauty of the moment, presented by Angel Monzon, Vessel Gallery, London, UK;

Tiffany Vanderhoop with her meaningful beadwork jewellery, offering a contemporary interpretation of traditional Indigenous narratives and values, presented by Bryna Pomp, MAD About Jewelry, Museum of Art and Design, New York, USA; and Christoph Leuner with his chipboard vessels, which push the boundaries of an often undervalued material, transforming it into functional yet sculptural objects, presented by Barbara Schmidt, Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany.

The Art Aurea winter edition of 2024 delves into a concept that is closely interwoven with art and deeply meaningful to many artists, one that extends beyond the purely visible and tangible, searching for deeper meanings and opening up new dimensions of perception: spirituality. In the Curators’ Choice section, five inspirational artists from the fields of textiles and furniture design, jewellery, glass, basketry, and ceramics are introduced by five passionate curators:

Textile artist Daniel Costa with his multidisciplinary practice, informed by a deep understanding of natural fibres, presented by Barbara Berger, handformwerk, Switzerland. Jewellery artist Coco Sung with her small portable sculptures, presented by Doreen Timmers, Galerie Door, the Netherlands. Glass artist Morten Klitgaard with his fascination with nature in its untouched form, presented by Bettina Køppe, Køppe Contemporary Objects, Bornholm, Denmark

Ceramic artist Zsolt József Simon with his organic sculptures capturing movement and stillness, imperfection and beauty, light and darkness, presented by Márkó Zsdrál, Zsdrál Art Gallery. Basket maker Joe Hogan with his sculptural pieces that blend traditional techniques with contemporary expression, presented by Stephen O’Connell, O’Connell Gallery, Ireland.