KAREN VANMOL
Belgium

Education

2010-2012
Teacher Studies Fine Arts, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE).
With an Erasmus in Ireland

2009-2010
Master fine arts, Jewellery design, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE).
With cross-over Etching, Fine Art Printmaking

2008-2009
Jewellery Techniques, TNA Antwerp (BE).

2006-2009 
Bachelor fine arts, Jewellery Design, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE).

2004-2006
Jewellery Design, HA St-Truiden (BE).

 

MEET THE ARTIST!

Which step in your working process does nobody see, but is absolutely crucial?

The first thing that comes to mind is the manual making process. I like working at the workbench and spend a lot of time there. While making, I discover possibilities for new works. People often assume that I have components laser-cut, but then I would miss a large part of my process, which is why I still saw everything out myself.

A second one is timing. Some ideas come to me and I work them out immediately. They can then go from idea to exhibition very quickly. Others can remain unfinished for years before they are completed and “go out into the world.”

Which materials do you most enjoy working with and why?

I have been working with wood and laminate for a long time now. Before that, I worked with concrete, but I lost the sense of challenge more quickly. Laminate presented me with many challenges. By now, I have been able to understand many of them, which is why I continue looking for other ways of working with it. It seems that I do not want to make things too easy for myself. If everything is possible, then where is the challenge?

Which part of your creative process do you like to postpone for as long as possible?

It is part of the creative process, so I am still going to say everything that falls under the heading of “computer work.” I also take all the photographs myself. I have developed a system for myself that makes everything run smoothly. From photography to making lists for galleries, it is important for everything to run properly. Then I have more time afterwards to sit at the workbench again!

Do you work more intuitively or according to a clear plan?

I find that an interesting question because I notice that people think I work in a very planned way, but that is not the case at all. Planning and making good agreements are important to me, but in my studio I really work according to my feelings and intuition. It is very unusual for me to have a clear final image in my head at the beginning.

What is the most unexpected material you have ever used in your work?

Small lead weights from the fishing world. I have sometimes put them into wood to position the centre of gravity in the right place. Think, for example, of a bracelet that would otherwise rotate around the wrist.

Who or what has influenced your style the most?

That is difficult to determine. Things catch your attention for a reason. But when I was around 12 years old, I saw Walter Van Beirendonck on television in Ghislaine Luytten’s programme about Belgian fashion. The collection included a red raincoat, and that coat had a pocket for a banana, in the shape of a banana. That has always stayed with me. “Oh yes, that is possible too,” I thought at the time. But also architecture, the city, and human behaviour.

Do you wear jewellery yourself every day? Why or why not?

Yes, usually a mix of my own work and that of others.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2026 Schmuck, International Handwerkmesse, Munich (DE).
  • 2025 Opgespeld! DIVA Antwerp (BE).
  • 2025 Patterns & Expectations, Guthschmidt, Den Haag (NL).
  • 2022 Layering, 20 Years Gallery Pont & Plas, Ghent (BE).
  • 2019 Schmuck, 71th International Handwerkmesse, Munich (DE).
  • 2018 SOFA, represented by Pistachios Jewelry, Navy Pier, Chicago (US)
  • 2016 Talente, 68th International Handwerkmesse, Munich (DE).
  • 2015 Schmuck, 67th International Handwerkmesse, Munich (DE).
  • 2014 Schmuck, 66th Internationale Handwerkmesse, Munich (DE).
  • 2014 MineralArt, Between Layers, German Gemstone, Museum, Idar-Oberstein (DE).
  • 2014 2014 European Triennial for Contemporary Jewellery, Anciens Abbatoirs, Mons (BE).
  • 2013 Play for display, Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, Gallery Four, Gothenburg (SE).
  • 2013 Evolving Habitat, Solo exhibition, Beyond Fashion, Antwerp (BE).
  • 2011 Staying long enough - leaving on time, Museum M, Leuven (BE).