About the Speakers
Iris Eichenbe
rg is a German-born artist, jeweler, and educator whose work challenges the
boundaries of craft and jewelry across objects, wearables, and installatio
n. She is the artist-in-residence and head of the metals department at Cran
brook Academy of Art, presents lectures and workshops worldwide, and has re
ceived awards from institutions including the Netherlands Foundation for Vi
sual Arts, the Herbert Hofmann Prize, and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.<
br>
Elizabeth Essner is the Windgate Foundation Associate Curator of Cra
ft at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where she oversees the museum&rsquo
;s modern and contemporary craft collection. She co-curated The Jewelry
of Dorothea Prühl and Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernh
ard Schobinger, the first major US museum presentations for both artis
ts. She is currently at work on a retrospective of the Japanese American fi
ber artist Kay Sekimachi.
Renate Luckner-Bien is a German art histor
ian and writer based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Her research focuses
on applied arts and design and their relationship to the fine arts.
Claudia Schmuckli is the Holly Johnson and Parker Harris Chief Curator of
Modern and Contemporary Art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, wher
e she has implemented a dynamic program of exhibitions, commissions, and ac
quisitions that foreground social justice, ecology, and technology. Among h
er recent major exhibitions are Isaac Julien: I Dream A World
(2025), Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care (2024), Kehinde Wiley: A
n Archaeology of Silence (2023), and Judy Chicago: A Retrospective
(2021). In 2020, Schmuckli curated Uncanny Valley: Being Human in
the Age of AI, the first major U.S. museum exhibition to relate the d
esign, operations, and mechanisms of artificial intelligence to philosophic
al, social, and art histories of automaticity.
Cindi Strauss i
s the Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design at
the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where she is responsible for the acquisi
tion, research, publication, and exhibition of post-1900 decorative arts, d
esign, and craft. She has curated numerous major jewelry exhibitions includ
ing Ornament as Art: Contemporary Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt
Collection (2007) and Liquid Lines: Exploring the Language of Con
temporary Metal (2010). She is also co-author of In Flux: American
Jewelry and the Counterculture. Strauss co-curated The Jewelry of
Dorothea Prühl and Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernhard
Schobinger.
DESCRIPTION:► Registration for in-person attendance has reached capacity. Y
ou may still register here for the livestream. An international group of
scholars, curators, and artists presents a day-long symposium accompanying
Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernhard Schobinger and The Jewelry of Dor
othea Prühl. Held in conjunction with the first U.S. solo exhibitions of th
e two pathbreaking jewelry artists, this day of dynamic talks and curator-l
ed tours brings new perspectives to each artist’s practice as well as great
er insights into the dialogue between contemporary jewelry, political and c
ultural history, and contemporary art. Program and Sessions Welcome and
Introduction by Elizabeth Essner Morning Session Renate Luckner-Bien | “A
Clear Vision of Form: The Life and Work of Dorothea Prühl” Iris Eichenberg
| “On Sharing a Mother Tongue—A Conversation with Dorothea Prühl's Work”
Lunch and exhibition tours with curators Cindi Strauss, Elizabeth Essner, a
nd Meagan Howard Afternoon Session Claudia Schmuckli | “Bernhard Schobinge
r—The Fault Lines of History” Cindi Strauss | “A Visionary Practice: Bernha
rd Schobinger in Context” Reception Admission | In-Person Attendance Is
SOLD OUT This event is free. Register here for the livestream. A boxed lu
nch can be ordered for an additional fee. Plan Your Visit Capacity is li
mited. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. This event takes pla
ce in the Lynn Wyatt Theater in the Kinder Building. The exhibitions are lo
cated on Level 2 of the Kinder Building. Parking Information | Museum Hours
| MFAH Campus Map About the SpeakersIris Eichenberg is a German-born ar
tist, jeweler, and educator whose work challenges the boundaries of craft a
nd jewelry across objects, wearables, and installation. She is the artist-i
n-residence and head of the metals department at Cranbrook Academy of Art,
presents lectures and workshops worldwide, and has received awards from ins
titutions including the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, the Herbert
Hofmann Prize, and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.Elizabeth Essner is the
Windgate Foundation Associate Curator of Craft at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, where she oversees the museum’s modern and contemporary craft col
lection. She co-curated The Jewelry of Dorothea Prühl and Going Underground
: The Jewels of Bernhard Schobinger, the first major US museum presentation
s for both artists. She is currently at work on a retrospective of the Japa
nese American fiber artist Kay Sekimachi.Renate Luckner-Bien is a German ar
t historian and writer based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Her research
focuses on applied arts and design and their relationship to the fine arts
.Claudia Schmuckli is the Holly Johnson and Parker Harris Chief Curator of
Modern and Contemporary Art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, wher
e she has implemented a dynamic program of exhibitions, commissions, and ac
quisitions that foreground social justice, ecology, and technology. Among h
er recent major exhibitions are Isaac Julien: I Dream A World (2025), Lee M
ingwei: Rituals of Care (2024), Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence (2
023), and Judy Chicago: A Retrospective (2021). In 2020, Schmuckli curated
Uncanny Valley: Being Human in the Age of AI, the first major U.S. museum e
xhibition to relate the design, operations, and mechanisms of artificial in
telligence to philosophical, social, and art histories of automaticity. Cin
di Strauss is the Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, a
nd Design at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where she is responsible for
the acquisition, research, publication, and exhibition of post-1900 decora
tive arts, design, and craft. She has curated numerous major jewelry exhibi
tions including Ornament as Art: Contemporary Jewelry from the Helen Willia
ms Drutt Collection (2007) and Liquid Lines: Exploring the Language of Cont
emporary Metal (2010). She is also co-author of In Flux: American Jewelry a
nd the Counterculture. Strauss co-curated The Jewelry of Dorothea Prühl and
Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernhard Schobinger.
LOCATION;VVENUE=5F7B6AD3DB9EAC00011BCE90:Nancy and Rich Kinder Building \n5
500 Main Street \nHouston, TX 77004
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VVENUE
UID:5F7B6AD3DB9EAC00011BCE90
NAME:Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
The Kinder Building, named for MFAH patrons
Nancy and Rich Kinder, is devoted to the display of the Museum’s int
ernational collections of modern and contemporary art.
DESCRIPTION:The Kinder Building, named for MFAH patrons Nancy and Rich Kind
er, is devoted to the display of the Museum’s international collections of
modern and contemporary art.
STREET-ADDRESS:5500 Main Street
LOCALITY:Houston
REGION;ABBREV=TX:Texas
COUNTRY;ABBREV=US:United States
POSTAL-CODE:77004
URL;TYPE=Map:https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Nancy+and+Rich+Kinder+Building++5500+Main+Street++Houston%2c+TX+77004
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