The vessel was crocheted from fine silver thread and hammered by hand. For Helena, the shadows created by empty spaces bring the form to life and blur the distinction between shape and shadow. The exploration of transparency and the play of light and shadow is central to Helena’s work.
Height 11 cm
Diameter 11 cm
© Lotte Van Boxem
© All rights reserved
© Fred Weegnaar
© All rights reserved
© Marie Dries
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Helena Schepens
- Silversmith
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Master Artisan
- Recommended by BeCraft
Contact
Dutch, English
Hours:
By appointment only
By appointment only
Phone:
+32 499625898
+32 499625898
© Linda Corstjens
A meditation on silver
- • Helena's silverwork draws on themes of transparency, shadow and light
- • She specialises in raising and working the surface by drilling patterns
- • She feels her passion and love for silver is reflected in her works
Helena Schepens discovered her passion for metalwork during a course at secondary school. “I loved the repetitive action of hammering, and how I felt the shape developing under my hands.” She later studied jewellery and silversmithing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp before taking a master’s at the Royal College of Art in London. “In my objects, I create a structure that reveals the image and its shadow on the wall or on the underlying surface, as two equal principles,” she says. “Through this idea, as well as through the balance between the massive and openworked parts, I try to emphasise the underlying connection between two opposite concepts.”
Read the full interviewWorks
Photo: © Fred Weegenaar
Tricotado II
Photo: © Fred Weegenaar
Ellerbeckia
Diatoms – microscopic organisms living in water – were the inspiration for the design of this hand-shaped silver bowl. Once the initial form had been achieved, Helena pierced and drilled the surface, creating infinite patterns and perforations. Transparency and the play of light and shadows are key themes in Helena’s work.
Photo: © Helena Schepens
Cavinula
Shaped by hand, this silver bowl was modelled on the patterns of diatoms – microscopic organisms living in water. The perforated surface was drilled and cut, and the design comes within the scope of Helena’s research and artworks that explore the play of light and shadow.
Height 4.5 cm
Diameter 9 cm
Photo: © Helena Schepens
Echo
This hand-raised vessel in sterling silver was created in collaboration with the calligrapher Denise Lach. Helena worked on the pattern by cutting out the shapes. The perforated surface plays with notions of darkness, light and shadows, central themes to Helena’s work.
Height 14 cm
Width 12 cm
Length 33 cm
Photo: © Hugo Maertens
Hole Bowl VII
This asymmetrical hand-raised silver bowl plays with the sense of balance. The wider side has been drilled with holes, making it lighter in weight than the opposite side and creating a counterbalance. The perforations confer a notion of transparency and play of light, central themes to Helena’s work.
Diameter 28.5 cm
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