The candlesticks Sculptured Light were purchased by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 1999.
They have been prominently exhibited since the opening of the new Silvergallery in the V & A in 2000.
Eric Turner, curator of the Metalworkdepartment, wrote the following text acompagnying the candlesticks :
"Jan van Nouhuys is a leading figure in Dutch contemporary silver. He is a founder member of the group Zilver in Beweging (Silver in Motion), which seeks to explore and evolve new expressive forms in silver, making it once again a valid, innovative artistic medium and one that is relevant to contemporary needs.
The group develops its ideas informally through meetings and workshops, often with international colleagues or more formally through lectures and exhibitions. High quality craftsmanship is an important objective, but equal emphasis is given to the originality of the artistic concept. This does not mean that historic precedent is ignored, although historical revivalism is shunned.
Van Nouhuys freely admits to admiring the highly individual 'auricular' style of the Van Vianen family, who were famous 17th cenrtury Utrecht goldsmiths. He has succeeded with this pair of candlesticks in reinterpreting this extravagantly fluid style in a thoroughly modern and idiomatic manner."
Candlesticks at V&A Museum
Date: 1 Nov 2000
