The Value of Nothing: Presence in the Absence opened earlier this month at the International Handwerksmesse Special Exhibition Area, München, as part of the Handwerk & Design Fair. Curated by Eleonora Varotto from HOOROON in tandem with Lisa Balasso from Arte Design Venezia, this group invitational exhibition seeks to question the pre-conceived value assigned to all jewelry, especially among seventeen artists in this exhibition.

Patricia Sullivan interacts with her upcycled jewelry pieces at the booth for “The Value of Nothing” exhibit at Handwerk & Design, International Handwerksmesse, as part of Munich Jewellery Week, Germany 2026. Photos: L. Balasso; montage by P. Sullivan

Utilizing upcycled fibrous material and sterling silver reclaimed from prior projects, I created my Upcycled Reimagined Gemstone Object No. 2 (middle-left) and my Upcycled Reimagined Pear-cut Gemstone (mid-right.) In looking at the social issues that pervade my artistic research – I make one-of-a-kind objects that prevent waste materials from entering landfills and trash receptacles to help preserve the natural beauty of our oceans, cities, historic landmarks and more. My items are hand-sawed, pierced, scored into geometric forms, delicately sewn with thread and soldered or cold-connected by recycled sterling elements to create a lasting object. With these new objects designed and cut by hand, I hope to transform them into useful, wearable objects and thereby prevent their disposal. The 2-D elements are created digitally in Adobe Illustrator software, printed in color onto archival paper and set behind plexiglass.

Aerial view of daily attendees to booth B1.738 at the Messe München for “The Value of Nothing” exhibit. Seventeen global contemporary jewelry artists showing their works among some of the world’s greatest galleries in adjacent exhibit booths.

Being my first time at the Handwerksmesse show hall in Munich, I was taken immediately with the hoards of crowds in attendance all five days of the Fair. Many notable figures in the contemporary jewelry world stopped by our booth. Chicago gallerist and fellow Precious Collective artist Jessica Armstrong from Pistachio’s Gallery stopped by to see our work, and quite a few others, such as gallerist Heidi Lowe (both of whom I was so thrilled to finally meet in-person!) Co-exhibiting jewelers Marie Therese Wolf, Elisa Mattonai and I were greeted by AGC Italy President and notable Milano curator/editor Eliana Negroni, who shared with us info about her new project, Aedo Magazine, launched just the week before in Italy.

One of the best highlights of our exhibit was a visit by MAD About Jewelry Director/Curator at Museum of Arts and Design NY, Bryna Pomp, who traveled to Munich Jewellery Week all the way from finishing a historical tour of Sicily (Italy), specifically Taormina/Palermo with her husband. Here, Bryna is pictured offering insights on the contemporary pieces seen at our booth (clockwise, from far left) by Alejandra Alfaro (rings); Eunbyeol JO (brooches); Hannah McGuinness (rings); Elisa Mattonai (necklace/rings); and center, Patricia Sullivan (brooches.)

Curator Eleonora of HOOROON (left) discusses artworks on display at our booth (incl. my brooches in center) with Museum of Arts and Design NY curator, Bryna Pomp (center) and husband.

Munich Jewellery Week’s The Value of Nothing opened March 4th through March 8th, 2026 at the International Handwerksmesse Special Exhibition Area, München, as part of the Handwerk & Design Fair. Located at Messegelände, Hall B1, show hall is accessible from U-Bahn line 2, “Messestadt West” station. Tickets may be purchased upon arrival at the front desk or online. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 am to 6pm. Artists/participants: Fangjing HU – Jing Jewellery (The United Kingdom) | Patricia Sullivan (United States) | Marie Therese Wolf Artwear (Spain) | Naishee Shah (United Arab Emirates) | Elisa Mattonai Jewelry
(Italy) | Hannah McGuinness Jewellery (Ireland) | EUNBYEOL JO (Republic of Korea) | Anneli Tammik Jewellery (Estonia) | Zhan Zhan Jewelry (United States) | jimin SURH (Republic of Korea) | Taylor Chyn (Italy) | Dominyka Gulbinaitė – Gulbe (Lithuania) | Sujin Kim – Sujin Studio (Republic of Korea) | Alejandra Alfaro (México) | Lisa Nagel – KITSCH KIOSK (Germany) | María Luisa Melendo – Zover (Belgium) | Zhuwei Lu Jewelry (United States).

Images used are courtesy of HOOROON and Arte Design Venezia, except where noted.

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Patricia Sullivan is a metalsmith and studio artist – living in the suburbs of Philadelphia across the great Delaware River in Southern New Jersey. She spent seven years prior, living in both New York City and the Hudson Valley, New York, studying at Parsons School of Design, moving onward to receive a second degree (post-graduate) in Fine Arts/Metals at SUNY New Paltz. A Philadelphia native, Patricia was exposed to the arts and music of this region since a young age, receiving her first Bachelor's degree at Temple University in Philadelphia before her sojourn to New York began. Patricia has exhibited her artwork nationally and internationally at both Munich Jewellery Week in Germany and Milano Jewelry Week in Milan, Italy. Ms. Sullivan was one of only thirty-four artists worldwide to exhibit her work at the Center for Craft, as part of being selected for Metalsmith magazine's prestigious "Exhibition in Print - Moved by Metal."

4 replies on ““The Value of Nothing” at Munich Jewellery Week Offers a Gentle Debate to Objects Deemed ‘Precious’”

    1. YES, I was working at the booth most of the time, but I did enjoy Munich. Saw the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) and the Pinakothek der Moderne (museum) was esp. great! Thanks Jörg for stopping in and reading!

      Reply

  2. With artist from Belgium to UAE, it’s great to see how many people feel that “The Value of Nothing” is precious. Haha, did you see how I did that, sometimes I even amaze myself. You’re welcome.It looks like it was a fun show for you guys. I hope you got a chance to see a bit of Munich.

    Reply

    1. Hi Steve! Yes, I sure did. All the different shows that were part of the Munich Jewellery Week were impressive – way too much to see! And the weather was fantastic. No rain, and spring-like warm! Thank you!

      Reply

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