Juha Janger

Goldsmiths 1987 - 2015

Each goldsmith of the year has their own individual idiom and method of working. The jewellery and items were created using various methods: handcrafting, drilling, sawing, forging, casting. For many, modern 3D-technology has opened doors to unlimited possibilities for new design. Over the decades, goldsmiths and silversmiths have shaped many unique pieces of luxury jewellery, but have also worked with mass production.

Goldsmith of the Year 2016

The smiths are connected by their passion, quality and an uncompromising attitude towards their work. They don't cut corners; instead, they will labour over even the smallest detail. A journey through the Brilliant! exhibition will uncover experimentation, the search for novel ideas, respect for traditions and international success stories. The smiths' works have been given as gifts to members of royal families and to popular figures who have divided popular opinion, such as the Shah of Iran and Diana, Princess of Wales. Throughout the decades, the jewellery has featured in well-respected, international exhibitions and in private collections.

1980 1990 2000 2010

1999 Kirsti Doukas 1998 Toivo Valkama 1997 Pekka Kiviluoto 1996 Alpo Tammi 1995 Juha Janger 1994 Jukka Ailio 1993 Morris Lindblom 1992 Markku Laulaja 1991 Markku Mäki 1990 Raimo Nieminen

Aurora dancing across the sky, the great silence that descends over nature in the North. Master goldsmith Juha Janger condenses the endlessness of nature and the comparable insignificance of humans into jewellery, which he bases on the nuggets of gold found throughout Lapland. Janger sees the larger nuggets as jewellery in themselves, adding the finishing touches with his own hands. Smaller nuggets are combined to make jewellery much like a puzzle. The rings, pendants, earrings are all unique, since no nugget is quite like any other. The jewellery is shaped by both nature and human forces, it plays with contrasts in surface.

Janger is one of the founders behind Taigakoru, which draws on Lapland’s rich jewellery traditions. The majority of his jewellery is custom-made, and sent to all corners of the world. The jewellery conveys strong emotion and memories. Stories bring jewellery to life, connecting it to a culture and environment.

www.taigakoru.fi