PETER SCHMID | ATELIER ZOBEL
Peter Schmid of Atelier Zobel creates flamboyant, dramatic precious jewelry that combines wearable forms with a theatrical, larger-than-life esthetic. This effect is created in part by the exaggerated three-dimensionality of the many of the designs; like all out of scale forms, it demands that we re-evaluate the form itself and its function. Certainly, one function is as pure sculpture, in which the scale is crucial to the viewer; another is theatricality and the attention brought to the wearer. In all of this play of scale and size, there is a great sense of fun: an enjoyment of color and patterns for its own sake and a true pleasure in jewelry as ornament.
Michael Zobel founded the company in 1970, exhibiting his work throughout Europe and the United States; his design partner Peter Schmid, who now heads the Atelier, studied goldsmithing at the School for Design and Jewelry in Schwabisch-Gmund, Germany, and then apprenticed to Michael Zobel. Both designers are the recipients over the years of numerous design awards, competitions and museum collections, including the Museum of Art & Design and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
