Everything
    Collections
    Commissioned
    Conceptual
    @name
    Eva van Kempen

    Eva van Kempen (1976) is an experienced goldsmith and jewellery artivist. With a BA in HRM, Van Kempen received her MA from Sandberg Institute, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam in 2020. Her work is exhibited internationally in shows in Europe, Asia and the US and is part of several private and public collections.

    Her work evolved drastically when she was confronted with serious health issues. Van Kempen’s collections reflect her fascination with human potential, specifically related to achievements in the medical and specialised goldsmithing fields.

    In 2015 the artist presented her 'LifeLines' jewellery line, made from safely recycled hospital waste. With these works, she demonstrated the inherent exquisiteness and value of a range of medical equipment and implements. A solo-exhibition was presented at Amsterdam Medical Centre (AMC), where she used to be a patient. A solo-exhibition 'Ready-To-Bear' in Museum de Fundatie followed (2017-2018).

    One part of Van Kempen’s eclectic practice focuses on craft heritage and filigree, a roughly 4,600 year-old ornamental jewellery specialisation, of which she has been a practitioner since 2010. For her master's thesis, she conducted field research into filigree in both the Netherlands and China, during an artist's residency at 'San W' in Shanghai. In collaboration with 'Traditionow', Van Kempen was part of a residency program concerned with Royal Chinese Filigree Inlay at the Filigree Museum in Shantou, Guangdong Province.

    In response to the impending extinction in the Netherlands of this time-consuming technique, in 2020 Van Kempen has launched the Instagram page 'The Filigree Ambassador'. It was later renamed 'The Filigree Embassy'. In lieu of mourning the loss of tradition in the face of technological change, the designer chooses to socialise basic filigree knowledge-production and emphasise its meditative aspects. Practising an intangible cultural heritage while engaging in a new form of self-care in today’s fast-paced society, she argues, can provide people with a sense of place and purpose, which can be beneficial to their well-being.

    In august 2022, with support of Creative Industries Fund NL, Van Kempen launched 'The Filigree Embassy', an online, open-source filigree knowledge platform in Dutch. Aiming to repopularise filigree in the Netherlands, she innovates, safeguards, and shares filigree knowledge in collaboration with designers, practitioners, teachers, art historians, and enthusiasts.

    PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:

    Museum de Fundatie

    Dr. Rebecca Gomperts

    Prof. Dr. Hanneke Schuitemaker

    Titus Healthcare

    Kunstzaken AMC

    SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:

    2019 Material District, Ahoy Rotterdam

    2019 XIX World Congress Gestational Trophoblastic Diseases, Boom Chicago, Amsterdam

    2017 Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam

    2017 de Optimist (NL) Radio EenVandaag

    COLLABORATIONS:

    2023 Airco Caravan

    2023 Aminta Paiz

    2023 Ming Design Studio

    2022 Ming Design Studio

    2021 Ming Design Studio

    2020 Women on Waves

    2020 Caroline Broadhead

    2020 BLESS

    2020 Ted Noten

    2020 Ruudt Peters

    2020 Liesbeth den Besten

    2020 Gijs Bakker

    2020 Anne-Karlijn van Kesteren

    2020 Lavinia Rosetti

    2020 Valentina Caprini

    2020 Challenging Jewellery

    2020 Marilyn Volkman

    2019 Yentl Oehlenschlager

    2017 Museum de Fundatie

    2015 AMC Kunstzaken

    2012 Het Internationaal Danstheater

    PUBLICATIONS (selection):

    Let's get Radical! (NL) STUNNIN' Magazine, Frank Colisimo, issue #4

    De laatste Nederlandse filigreinmeester en de eerste Nederlandse filigrein ambassadeur (NL) hedendaagsesieraden.nl gastcolumn E. van Kempen, 2023

    СТРАШЕННО ГОЛОСНО і неймовірно близько (UKR) Marie Claire Ukraine, Daria Kibets, 2022

    Infinity Filigree by Eva van Kempen and Ming Design Studio (ENG) / (NL) New Crafts by Crafts Council, 2022

    How protest art aims to "comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" (ENG) Audacious CT Public Radio USA, By Jessica Severin de Martinez, Chion Wolf, 2022

    Meet the Maker (NL) / (ENG) Crafts Council, 2021

    The Filigree Ambassador: A Strategy to Revive an Intangible Cultural Heritage and A Preliminary New Theory on the Origin of Filigree (ENG) Journal of Jewellery Research, Vol. 4, p. 92-121, Kempen, van, E. 2021

    Challenging Jewellery, een samenwerking (NL) hedendaagsesieraden.nl, S. van Es, 2020

    The Artivist (ENG) Art Jewelry Forum, I. Ruggiero, 2020

    Eva van Kempen (NL) hedendaagsesieraden.nl, E. Doornbusch, 2020

    Instagram Rejected a Pro-Choice Face Filter (ENG) VICE US, M. Solis, 2020

    POLITICAL WAVES. POLITICAL BODIES. (ENG) Not Just a Label, I. Ruggiero, 2020

    Eva van Kempen (IT) Libidocta, F. Londino, 2020

    Ready-To-Bear. Inside-Outside Jewellery by Eva Van Kempen (ENG/CN) Klimt02, Dr. M.F. Delfos, 2018

    Een spiraaltje om je hals (NL) Telegraaf/VROUW, M. van Es, 2017

    Een juweel van een infuus (NL) Het Parool, L. Hekman, 2015

    PHOTO: Museum de Fundatie

    Most jewels are one of a kind, or are made in a limited edition. Jewels can be purchased from collection and stock, or clients can be part of the designing process. The process of bespoke jewel design can often forge unique, temporary companionships thanks to the shared goal of creating a personal and unique jewel, often in secrecy for a loved one.

    Eva van Kempen supports re-melting old/heirloom gold; not only can it be of great emotional value and an economically wise decision, it is also an environmentally-friendly method.

    Moreover, in commissions Van Kempen crafts jewels in fairmined or fairtrade gold, a ground-breaking initiative that offers a lifeline to artisanal and small-scale miners and their communities.

    “Designing for someone in particular can be a memorable experience in itself, as the stories that are being shared are as personal as the jewels will be.”
    Eva van Kempen jewellery is sold exclusively at:

    and in her studio in Amsterdam West by appointment only. Please feel free to contact Eva Van Kempen by phone, e-mail, text message, or
    Book an appointment with Eva Van Kempen, Art Jewellery using SetMore
    0031-(0)642271055
    href="https://www.facebook.com/evavankempenartjewellery" target="_blank" title="Eva van Kempen on Facebook">