Māris Auniņš
Latvian jewelry artist from Riga MARIS AUNINS (1949) follows his family traditions: his father has been a silversmith before the World War II and Maris had an opportunity to observe and acquire the secret skills of a jeweler already as a child. Later he studied at the Riga Secondary School of Applied Arts and graduated the Metal Design Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallin, Estonia (1980).
MARIS AUNINS exhibits regularly already since 1978 in Latvia and abroad, particularly in Europe – Germany, France, UK, Denmark, Switzerland. His works are in the permanent collection of the Decorative Arts and Design Museum, the Latvian National Museum of Art (www.lnmm.lv/dmdm).
The designer follows the traditions of the Bauhaus school in architecture and design: constructivism, minimalism and purity of forms. He is one of the few jewelry designers in Latvia who cuts the gemstones himself (aquamarine, topaz, quartz, rock crystal and other). The stones play the most important role in the creating of the composition of the jewelry objects. This process is unique, sometimes even unexpected and the desired result always is surprising, because the nature of stones dictates their own rules.
MARIS AUNINS jewelry is notable for its geometric lines and clear shapes, elegance and sophisticated modesty. It can be comparable with the constructive tendencies in architecture or sculpture, only in the smaller scale. These jewelry objects are not for one day, they distinguish the personality who wears them, characterize the dynamics features of our days and stand above the craze of changing fashion.
