Images shown are of the front and side of this work
Austrian artist Petra Zimmermann raids and deconstructs costume adornment to create contemporary pieces that seem to slip between styles and periods. A fan of the opulent and sensuous, her choice of smooth, sometimes organic and sometimes space-age forms in synthetic materials contrasts with the traditional and ultimately fake splendor of costume adornment. Slipping between nature and culture, between precious and commonplace, and between craft and design, Zimmermann’s piece is both ambiguous and undoubtedly spectacular. Hidden underneath the fake diamonds and hand-sculpted acrylic, a gold band is placed so that it circles the wearer’s finger. Zimmermann’s work is represented in private collections in the US and Europe. It was featured in a monograph published by Arnoldsche in 2012, on the occasion of a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna.