Armin Kolb

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Armin Kolb (born March 23, 1958 in the Hamberg district of Neuhausen ) is a German craftsman and freelance artist who is mainly known for his lavishly turned tops .

Hand-turned top by Armin Kolb with a twisted handle

life and work

Armin Kolb was born the son of a jeweler goldsmith and a jewelery polisher . Already in his early childhood he occupied himself with painting oil paintings and received private drawing and painting lessons from H. Mürle, master goldsmith and lecturer at the goldsmith school in Pforzheim . At the request of his parents, he initially completed a classic training course as a wholesale merchant, which, however, did not match his skills and interests. After extensive travels in North America, India and Southeast Asia, he met gold prospector Robert Highland in 1983 in North Queensland , Australia , who gave him basic knowledge of free woodworking and forging. The collaboration with Highland lasted two years.

Back in Germany in 1986, he founded his first studio in Münsterland, in which he made hand-turned objects. At this point in time, his preference for the gyroscope became apparent. After several national and international exhibitions, the common turner's repertoire of bowls, jars, balls and pens took a back seat and the top as an object of art became the central theme of his work. In his works he deals with the question of which combinations of form and material can be used to emphasize the aesthetics of a top without depriving it of its original function - namely, rotation. Typical of his tops is the use of beef leg, coral or amber as well as various precious woods such as grenadilla and pink ivory. He experiments with different turning techniques such as offset turning or fitting turning as well as the turning of complex profiles. His objects are complemented by filigree goldsmiths and inlays.

For Armin Kolb, the spinning top is much more than just a simple children's toy. For him it symbolically stands for playing as an end in itself and in this way forms moments of calm in modern societies in which the dogma of purposeful economic life plans prevails.

Exhibitions (selection)

1979 First exhibitions with oil paintings and watercolors in Pforzheim
1983 Crafts markets in Surfers Paradise , Queensland
1995-1997 Roundabout shows at LIGNA and the arts and crafts form, Hanover
1999-2001 Koppel 66, Hamburg
2002-2005 Museum for Arts and Crafts , Hamburg
2003 Grassi Museum Leipzig
2008/2015 State Museum Württemberg , Stuttgart
2011 "Highly dosed", handicraft museum Deggendorf
2012 Badisches Landesmuseum , Karlsruhe
2013 "Artistic Toys", Handcraft Museum Deggendorf and "Design Shanghai 2013", Powerstation of Art, Shanghai / China
2014 "Turn around", craft form Hanover
2015 Auguste Papendieck exhibition , Focke Museum Bremen

Awards

  • 2000 Koppel 66 award
  • 2002 Prize for the best single item, Hamburg Chamber of Crafts
  • 2013 Form 2013, Tendence Frankfurt

Web links

literature

  • Brigitte Hinrichs: Armin Kolb - roundabout. In: Arts & Crafts & Design. November / December 6/2007 ISSN  0454-6539 , pp. 40-43.
  • Brigitte Hinrichs: Artifacts of Enchantment. In: "American Woodturner". August 2012 / vol 27 / No 4, pp. 24-25
  • Wu Chen: "From spinning top to Final Theory." In: ArtWorld Magazine, Shanghai 2013/6/274 ISSN  1005-7722 , pp. 24–30.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brigitte Hinrichs: Armin Kolb - roundabout. In: Arts & Crafts & Design. November / December 6/2007 ISSN  0454-6539 , pp. 40-43.
  2. ^ Chrischa Oswald: No child's play. In: AD Magazin. August 7, 2014, accessed June 27, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Kolb, Armin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German freelance artist and artisan
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamberg / Neuhausen