Felieke van der Leest

Born:

1968 Emmen The Netherlands

Training / Education:

1991-1996 Academy "Gerrit Rietveld", Education, Jewelry Department,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1986 -1991 Technical School for Gold-, and Silversmithing, Education,
Schoonhoven, the Netherlands

Exhibitions (Solo & Group Shows):

2004 Solo-exhibition, Gallery Deux Poissons, Tokyo, Japan
2004 SOFA Chicago, Charon Kransen Arts, Chicago, U.S.A.
2004 Collect, Lesley Craze Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, U.K..
2003 SOFA New York, Charon Kransen Arts, New York, U.S.A.
2003 Palm BeachContemporary Florida, Charon Kransen Arts USA
2003 Int. Art + Design Fair New York, Charon Kransen Arts USA
2003 Jewelry, Hard & Soft, Plastic/Fiber/Glass, Society of Arts & Crafts,Boston, U.S.A.
2003 Inner Luxury, International Contemporary Jewellery, CaixaForum, Barcelona, Spain
2003 Beesten Feest/Animal Party, Gallery Louise Smit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (solo)
2003 Valuables, Jewelry of the new Millennium, Museum of Craft & Folk Art, San Francisco, U.S.A.
2003 SOFA Chicago, Charon Kransen Arts, Chicago, U.S.A.
2003 SOFA New York, Charon Kransen Arts, New York, U.S.A.
2003 ArtForm Palm Beach, Charon Kransen Arts USA
2003 Int. Art + Design Fair New York, Charon Kransen Arts USA
2002 Display, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2002 Schmuck 2002, International Trade Fair Münich, Germany
2002 Campio - Masterpieces, Palazzo Bricherasio, WCC Europe, Turin, Italy
2002 Lepels/Spoons, Gallery Ra, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2002 Without polishing no lustre, Central Museum, Utrecht, the Netherlands
2002 SOFA Chicago, Charon Kransen Arts, Chicago, U.S.A.
2002 SOFA New York, Charon Kransen Arts, New York, U.S.A.
2002 Int. Art + Design Fair New York, Charon Kransen Arts USA
2001 Material Immaterial, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, U.K.
2001 Ornaments from there, Ornaments from here, Incidences,
Coincidences?, Museum of Applied Arts, Winterthur, Switzerland
2001 NorthEastSouthWest, Gallery Reverso, Lisbon, Portugal
2001 SOFA Chicago, Charon Kransen Arts, Chicago, U.S.A.
2001 SOFA New York, Charon Kransen Arts, New York, U.S.A.
2000 Wearable Sculpture, Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada
2000 Slipstich, Dutch Textile Museum, Tilburg, the Netherlands
2000 Maritimities, Gallery Louise Smit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (solo)
2000 On the Skin, Museum of Modern Art, Arnhem, the Netherlands
2000 SOFA Chicago, Charon Kransen Arts, Chicago, U.S.A.
2000 SOFA New York, Charon Kransen Arts, New York, U.S.A.
2000 20th Century Art Fair NY, Charon Kransen Arts
1999 Schmuck '99, International Trade Fair Münich, Germany
1999 Mind Seductions, Estonian Applied Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia
1999 SOFA Chicago, Charon Kransen Arts, Chicago, U.S.A.
1999 SOFA New York, Charon Kransen Arts, New York, U.S.A.
1999 20th Century Art Fair NY, Charon Kransen Arts
1998 From Saint Severus to Spermheart, Dutch Textile Museum, the Netherlands
1998 Jewellery Moves, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, U.K.
1997 Solo-exhibition, Gallery Louise Smit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Awards / Grants:

2001 Designprize Rotterdam 2001, nomination, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2001 Basic Stipend, The Netherlands Foundation for Fine Arts, Design and
Architecture, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2000 NPS Culture Prize 2000, nomination, Hilversum, the Netherlands
1999 & 1997 Grant for starting artists, The Netherlands Foundation for Fine
Arts, Design and Architecture, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Collections (Private & Museum):

2003 International Museum of Applied Arts, Turin, Italy
2003/'01/'00/'98/'97/'96 Dutch Textiel Museum, Tilburg, the Netherlands
2002 Cleveland Craft Centre, Middlesborough, U.K.
2002 The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, ?
2001/ '99/'98/'97 Museum of Modern Art, Arnhem, the Netherlands
2000 Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, U.K.
2000 Museum "Het Kruithuis", Den Bosch, the Netherlands
1998 Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada

Publications:

2004 1000 Rings, Lark Books, U.S.A.
2004 Metalsmith, volume 24 number 1, U.S.A.
2004 Fiberarts, March/April, U.S.A.
2004 Jucca, Spring/Summer, Japan
2003 Crafts, No181, U.K.
2003 GZ, art + design, nr 2, Germany
2003 Chess, Gallery Velvet da Vinci, U.S.A.
2003 Art Jewelry Today, Dona Meilach, U.S.A.
2003 Ateliers d'Art, No 45 , France
2003 Valuables, Jewelry of the new Millennium, No 2 , U.S.A.
2003 Luxe Interior, joieria contemporania internacional, catalogue,Spain
2003 Beesten Feest/Animal Party, catalogue, the Netherlands
2003 KunstBeeld, September, the Netherlands
2003 Dutch Design van de 20ste eeuw, Toon Lauwen, the Netherlands
2002 Schmuck 2002, catalogue, München, Germany
2002 Dutch Diversity, catalogue, London, U.K.
2002 Masterpieces/Capolavori, catalogue Torino, Italy
2002Lepels/Spoons, catalogue, the Netherlands
2001 Parures d'ailleurs, parures d'ici, incidences, coincïdences,catalogue and CD-ROM, Switserland
2001 Micromegas, catalogue, Germany
2001 Onedel/Non Precious, the Netherlands
2001 Display, catalogue, the Netherlands
2000 Slipstich, new concepts of knitting, catalogue, the Netherlands
2000 Maritimiteiten, catalogue, the Netherlands
2000Virtual Gallery of Contemporary Jewellery CD-ROM, U.K.
2000 On the Skin, catalogue, the Netherlands
1999 Schmuck '99, catalogue, Germany
1999 Mind Seductions, catalogue, Estonia
1998 Jewellery Moves, catalogue, Scotland
1996 Subjects 96, catalogue, Finland

Artist Statement:

My fascination for knitting, crocheting and animals, started in my childhood. I lived close to a ZOO, and weekends I had to go to the boat with my parents, which I found so boring that the only thing I could do was making clothes for my bear.

Years later, after a technical and artistic education, I now cut rubber and plastic animals into pieces and together with some silversmithing and textile techniques I create my own colorfull and funny jewellery.

The animals I buy in shops, my whole house is one big Zoo. Animals everywhere, some without heads, some are missing other parts of their bodies, some are just waiting till it's their time......