Tina Gjersen’s jewellery is not just aesthetic works – they are portable stories about our times. Each piece carries the story of nature, man and the balance we must all take responsibility for.

GULDSMED TINA GJERSEN-SAV

Born in 1964. Jewellery artist and goldsmith.

Since 2010, I have had my own studio and showroom in Svendborg, Denmark.

Over the years, I have participated in a large number of exhibitions, and in 2018, I won the Australian Pearl Jewellery Design Masters in the men’s jewellery category with a set of cufflinks.

In 2022 I was admitted to Kjøbenhavns Guldsmedelaug, a guild of Denmark’s finest silver- and goldsmiths, and to the Danish Crafts Design Association (DKoD).

I find inspiration for my jewellery designs in nature, and employ the traditional skills of the master goldsmith in working precious metals and gemstones. My artistic mission is to achieve a result in which both the materials and the concept come to life. This applies when I work on the jewellery collections sold at my showroom, on commissioned pieces and on works for exhibitions.

Insects have been a consistent theme in my jewellery designs. I am attracted by their beauty, personalities and their warning about the state of the planet.

CAN JEWELLERY BE ART?

My artistic practice stems from a love for nature, both in spirit and matter. The quiet philosopher about the diversity of life. From studies of the everyday life of insects, survival mechanisms, war and love. An impressive wealth of detail is hidden in the universe of insects. Not just the beautiful wings or brightly colored bodies tell stories.

If you delve into textbooks and knowledge about entomology, you often find a creativity that goes beyond ordinary human imagination. Here is my starting point for intertwining the characteristics of insects with human life and livelihood. We fight in each half of the court, and do not fully understand the importance of coexistence.

Therefore, it is difficult to find common tolerance to share the planet.

Working as a master goldsmith

For me, being a goldsmith is about connecting with our earliest origins. The stones, metals and minerals I work with derive from the geological birth of our planet. In transforming these materials into jewellery my hope is that their owners will reflect on the grander scheme of the world we inhabit.

I find my motifs and my materials in nature. Insects and their adaptability fascinate me and inspire ideas for jewellery designs in my sketchbook. After that, I get a thrill from physical contact with the natural materials. Because it is the interplay of the metals and stones that has to succeed for the design to come to life.

I work the materials using state-of-the-art and ancient techniques. I never render the motifs realistically but as interpretations of inner moods. This is how I retain the tension from the worked metal and the play of colour in the finished jewellery to breathe life into my fantasy insects with human-like character traits.