Friedrich Becker

1922 – 1997

Friedrich Becker grew up in Grevenstein Sauerland. He graduated from school in Düsseldorf as a trained mechanic.
In 1940 he attended the aviation engineering college in Thorn/Weichsel and completed his studies from 1947 to 1951 at the industrial art college of Düsseldorf.
In 1952 he passed his degree and opened his own workshop in Düsseldorf. He also worked as an assistant of Professor Karl Schollmayer.
In 1964 Friedrich Becker took over the management of the metal design workgroup (gold and silver) at the Düsseldorf Industrial Art
School and in 1970 became director of studies and teacher trainer. Three years later he was appointed professor at the Düsseldorf technical college, where he taught until his retirement in 1982.
Friedrich Becker is one of the outstanding celebrity artists of our times. As an internationally renowned goldsmith, a creator of kinetic jewellery and kinetic objects, a designer and last but not least a professor at the Düsseldorf Technical
College he made a major contribution to goldsmith art in the second half of the twentieth century.
As early as the 1950s Friedrich Becker developed hidden mountings with interchangeable stones considered a technical marvel
at the time (…). This new concept led in the 1960s to kinetics, where Friedrich Becker fi rst introduced the fourth dimension in jewellery design known as Die Bewegung or “The Movement”.

In 1997 the London Royal College of Art awarded him the title of honorary doctor

1987 Recipient, Golden Ring of Honour, Association for Goldsmiths’ Art (created by Karl Gustav Hansen `82), Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany
1976 Herbert Hoffmann Prize, Internationale Schmuckschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich
1972 Prize, 4. Internationaler Wettbewerb – Ansteckschmuck, Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany
1965 Bavarian State Prize, Munich
1961 Acquisition Award, International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London

2001
L’Arte Gioiello, D’Artista Dal 900 ad Oggi, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy;
Brune Maritnazzi, La Violenza della Guerra e le Vie della Pace, Castello di Baron Canadese;
1994 A Moveable Feast 1964-1994: HWD Collection,Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam;
Schmuck Unserer Zeit 1964-1994: HWD Collection, Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland;
Schmuck und Gerät, Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau, Germany (traveled)
1993
13 Goldschmiede: Von Amsterdam bis Tokyo, Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, Munich
Contemporary Jewelry 1964-1993: Selected Works, HWD Collection, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock Schmuck: Die Sammlung der Danner-Stiftung, Galerie für angewandte Kunst, Munich
1992-93
Korun Kieli (The Language of Jewelry)
1964-1992
HWD Collection, Röhsska Konstslöjdmuseet, Gothenburg, Sweden; Taideteollisuusmuseo, Helsinki, Finland
1992 Sieraden, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Groningen, The Netherlands 1990 Ehrenringträger, Gesellschaft für Goldschmiede Kunst, Hamburg, Germany
1989
Infi nite Riches, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL Ornamenta 1, Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim,Germany
1987
Solo Exhibition, Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1986
Arte Moderna a Torino, Fondazione de Fornaris, Turin, Italy
1985
Martinazzi: Contro le Guerre, Basilica di Santa Maria all’Impruneta, Florence (traveled)
1984
Contemporary Jewellery: The Americas, Australia, Europe and Japan, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Tokyo Jewellery International, American Craft Museum II, New York
Martinazzi: Sculture e Disegni, Museo Diocesano, Venice
1983,79,76,73,70
International Jewellery Art Exhibition, Tokyo Triennials
1982,77,73,70
Schmuck – Tendenzen, Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany
1982,75
Solo Exhibitions, Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone, Rome
1981
Martinazzi, Museo di Torre Pellice, Turin, Italy
Triennale Internazionale: Marmo, Lavoro, Scultura, Carrara, Italy
1980
Schmuck International 1900-1980, Künstlerhaus, Vienna
Tin Symposium, Hochschule für angewandte Kunst, Vienna
1978
Martinazzi, Galerie am Graben, Vienna
1976
Internationale Schmuckschau, Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich
1975
Jewellery in Europe, Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (traveled)
1974
18 Orfévres d’Aujourd’hui, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland
1973
21 Premio del Fiorino, Florence
1972 4. Internationaler Wettbewerb – Ansteckschmuck, Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany
1971 Gold+Silber Schmuck+Gerät, Norishalle, Nuremberg, Germany 1968 International Jewelry Exhibition, Muzeum skla a bizuterie, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czechoslovakia
1966 Art in Jewelry, Finch Museum, New York
1964 Solo Exhibition, Galleria Il Punto, Turin, Italy (traveled)
1961 International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery:
1890-1961, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London

Centro Direzionale Fiat, Turin, Italy
Danner-Stiftung Collection, Munich
Fondazione de Fornaris, Turin, Italy
Museo d’Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy
Museum des 20.Jahrhunderts, Vienna
Muzeum skla a bizuterie, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic
Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany
Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London