Ulla & Martin Kaufmann
Their artistry was written in a language of touch.
The Kaufmanns worked side by side in their atelier in Hildesheim, Germany, beginning in 1970, forging a creative partnership that spanned more than five decades. Rooted in classic modernism yet unmistakably contemporary, their work pushed the expressive and structural limits of precious metal. Through this disciplined exploration, they became widely regarded among the most influential and revered metalsmiths of their time.
Every decision, every line, angle, and surface, was essential to the integrity of the whole. Renowned for their extraordinary forging of gold and silver, they achieved surfaces and structures that continually surprised the wearer. Rotation, inclination, cutting, bending, crossing, and folding became quiet but powerful gestures, through which each piece revealed a distinct and unmistakable presence. The Kaufmanns believed that true complexity and depth emerge only through reduction, when form is refined to its most elemental state.
In memory of Martin Kaufmann
1941 - 2024