The award of 2016: Anneke leaves nothing to chance

“Wait, I’ll show you!” or “Come take a look!” Anneke Schat (1942) may be able to sit still for her work, but during the conversation, she’s a lively whirlwind, explaining everything to you. Before you know it, you’re wearing one of her striking rings on your finger. “Always left,” she insists. “If you shake hands with the right, it will be a different experience.” No doubt, because Schat doesn’t make simple designs. Her jewelry has something futuristic and cubistic, yet fluid due to the many lines arranged next to each other. She also loves hiding hints and surprises in her designs. For instance, some of her pieces must be worn the other way around, and what looks like the front is actually the back.

Schat is perhaps best known for her designs for the Gouden Televizier-Ring, which she has been making since 1975. Photos of previous ring designs adorn the walls of her studio, alongside family pictures and images from the Far East, such as a samurai and Japanese calligraphy, which decorate the ‘mood boards’ lining the walls. Her workbench is an organized collection of bowls with chemical solutions, pieces of charcoal for heat conduction, and lids from empty jam and vegetable jars. There are also tiny pieces of metal, the size of a pinhead, called "pioentjes," which she uses to solder the parts of the Piket Award.

The Award

The 2016 Piket Art Prize award is a silver sculpture, with one long line—what Schat calls the “dynamic line”—forming the centerpiece. It symbolizes the progression of an art career, she explains. The winners of the Piket Art Prizes are still young and at the beginning of their careers, and this might even be their first art prize. "It had to be a form that could move and evolve." Movement is the key word: "No beginning and no end. I don’t like things that are too comfortable," she laughs.

On either side of the diagonal line, Schat stacked square tubes like crooked steps. She loves angles. "They add tension to an image and evoke something unexpected." The design should not be obvious to her. "That easily happens with stacking. I make it from one side, but the other side is equally thought out." Her jewelry and works on paper always need to contain "something incongruous." The bars you look at are sealed off, catching light and creating a reflection. "That gives a ruggedness to the rectangular shape and makes the image powerful."

Working process

Schat’s working process is as orderly as the initial phase where she works out her ideas. She starts by writing down her thoughts in her sketchbooks, her “talk plan,” and drawing the design. Only then does she begin the actual shaping. When Schat has completed the design, the pliers and technique come into play.

First, she creates a miniature to check if all the proportions are correct. After soldering, sanding, and polishing, she cleans the object and lets all the dust slide off in a special vibrating container. Then, she dries the object in sawdust. The sawdust sticks to it and absorbs any moisture. "If you let water dry on the precious metal, you’ll get a stain," she explains. After this thorough polishing session, even magpies would need sunglasses to handle the shine coming off the Piket Award.

Silver

For Anneke, who works exclusively with gold and silver, choosing to make the award in silver was a given. "Silver is a material that changes from the inside," just like your art career, says Schat. She explains that it can achieve a beautiful, deep shine if the winners take the time to polish the sculpture every month. "That shine should also be part of your artistic journey. It deepens over time. When you're young, you’re testing ideas, but they take shape. You start learning where your talents lie, and you should not overlook that." She believes this should be reflected in the artwork: "It’s not a finished whole if you’re under 30. That’s an important point for me."

For the Piket Art Prize awards, she drew inspiration from her own early years as an artist. "It was unrestrained hard work," and that applies to all artists, she says. "Later, when you realize your work is accepted, you should be glad you have that foundation. That foundation line comes in handy. After that, you can keep improving and renewing yourself."

She doesn’t let herself be limited by her designs: "I’m working with forms that seek space. Ergonomics come later. If you start by thinking about a ring or necklace, you’ll be stuck in its application." She brings order to the chaos, leaving nothing to chance. "I first make the skeleton, then I dance. The base form must be solid, then you can play. I never give up!"