Karl Fritsch was born in 1963 in Sonthofen, Germany, and lives and works in Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
For more than three decades, Fritsch has been a singular force in contemporary jewellery, forging a practice that is as experimental and irreverent as it is strangely beautiful. Trained in traditional goldsmithing yet radically resistant to its conventions, he transforms precious metals and stones through bold, improvisational gestures—embracing fingerprints, rough solder joins and unexpected materials. His rings and sculptural objects possess a rare aura, imbued with an enigmatic power that sits between ornament, artefact and talisman.
Fritsch’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria and Te Papa Tongarewa. Constantly challenging assumptions around value, desire and the handmade, Fritsch remains one of the most influential and distinctive voices in contemporary jewellery today.
Selected works (84)
Exhibitions (0)
Curriculum vitae (PDF)
Recent Solo Exhibitions
- 2025
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Rings and Other Things’, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- ‘Karl Fritsch, Dover Street Market’, New York, USA
- ’ Karl Fritsch: %’, Gallery Deux Poissons, Tokyo, Japan
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive’, Galerie Biro, Munich, Germany
- ‘Karl Fritsch: 365’, Galerie Zink, Waldkirchen, Germany
- ‘Der Tiefenglanz (with Gavin Hipkins)’, Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, Masterton, New Zealand
- 2024
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Fake Rubies in the Changing Room’, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- ‘Karl Fritsch: People Will Stare, Season Aotearoa Gallery’, Auckland, New Zealand
- ‘Karl Fritsch: The Opal Dealer’s Wife’ (with Brenda Nightingale and Lisa Walker), Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
- ‘Karl Fritsch: We Did All These Landscapes’, Stoddart Cottage, Diamond Harbour, New Zealand
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Ringlein Ringlein Du Musst Wandern’, Viceversa Galerie, Lausanne, Switzerland
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Soulmates, Galerie Biro’, Munich, Germany
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Rings at A&S’, Arts and Science, Aoyama, Japan
- 2023
- ‘Karl Fritsch vs. Gerry Wedd’, The National, Christchurch, New Zealand
- ‘Karl Fritsch: 9 Rings & Brickell-Brac’, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- ‘Brickell-Brac: The Pottery Lottery’, Kingsroy Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
- ‘Arts & Crafts’ (with Jack Hadley), Gallery Funaki, Melbourne, Australia
- ‘Charlie’ (with Robert Crotla), Galerie Biro, Munich, Germany
- 2022
- ‘Fritschgang III’, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- ‘Surf & Turf’ (with Gerry Wedd), Galerie Zink, Waldkirchen, Germany
- ‘Karl Fritsch: Rings’, The National, Christchurch, New Zealand
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2025
- Whakahokihoki, The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
- Fingers Group Show, Fingers Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
- 30 Years Gallery Funaki, Gallery Funaki, Melbourne, Australia
- Constellations: Contemporary Jewelry, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, USA
- Das Vertraute im Fremden: Schmuck der Südlichen Hemisphäre, Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany
- Everything Is Holy, Castlemaine Art Museum, Castlemaine, Australia
- Tin Makes Sense, Kunstraum München, Munich, Germany
- O Lecko Mio, Artcurial, Munich, Germany
- Curated Goodness: Jewellery and Fashion, Modeschule München, Munich, Germany
- Plus 1, Jhana Millers Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- May-Fair Art Fair (with Season Aotearoa Gallery), Auckland, New Zealand
- Spring1883 (with Neon Parc Gallery), Melbourne, Australia
- Sydney Contemporary (with Neon Parc Gallery), Sydney, Australia
- NYC Jewelry Week (with Ornamentum Gallery), New York, USA
- Design Miami (with Ornamentum Gallery), Miami, USA
- 2024
- Faszination Schmuck, MAKK Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Cologne, Germany
- 20 Years Gallery The National, The National, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Gold: 50 Years Fingers Gallery, Fingers Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
- Design Miami LA (with Ornamentum Gallery), Los Angeles, USA
- Schmuck Über Alles, Monacensia Library, Munich, Germany
- Friendly, Casa Yali, Venice, Italy
- Joya Monaco (with Galerie Zink), Monaco
- Loewe Craft Prize Finalists, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
- 2023
- Offering It Up (with Sophia Smolenski), Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Wellington, New Zealand
- Always Song in the Water, NZ Maritime Museum, Auckland, New Zealand
- This Natural World, Te Papa National Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
- Briclebrac, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
- Herbes Folles, Hazard et Germes du Désir, Viceversa Galerie, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Melbourne Design Fair (with Gallery Funaki), Melbourne, Australia
- Schmuck und Gerät, Handwerkskammer München, Munich, Germany
- 5 Gentlemen Making Things, Galerie Zink at Artcurial, Munich, Germany
- Ring Redux: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, USA
- 20 Years Gallery Deux Poissons, Gallery Deux Poissons, Tokyo, Japan
Collections
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mudac, Musee de Design et Arts Appliques Contemporains, Lausanne, Switzerland
Danner-rotunde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München, Germany
Alice und Louis Koch Kollektion, Schweiz, Switzerland
The Helen Drutt Collection, Philadelphia, USA
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Royal College of Art, London, UK
Museo Del Gioiello d’Autore, Padua, Italy
Schmuck und Edelstein Museum, Turnov, Czech Republic
Espace Solidor, Haut-de-Cagnes, France
Schmuck Museum Pforzheim, Germany
Anger Museum Erfurt, Germany
Sammlung Bollmann, Klosterneuburg, Austria
Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau, Germany
Museo Del Giollo, Basilica Palladina Museum Vicenca, Italy
The Hiko Mizuno Collection, Tokio, Japan
Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand
Te Papa National Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
Stedelijk Museum, ´s Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima), UK
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, USA
Museum of Decorative Arts Montreal, Canada
Govett-Brewster Contemporary Art Museum, Taranaki, New Zealand
Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, USA
Museum of Art and Design New York, USA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia
RISD, The Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design, USA
The Jewish Museum New York, USA
The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum NY, USA
Swiss National Museum Zurich, Switzerland
Nationalmuseum Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Leipzig, Germany