Current Obsession is an Amsterdam-based platform and magazine devoted to contemporary jewellery and its relation to other fields of art — performance, illustration, photography, fashion, and beyond. The first issue was presented during the Schmuck week in Munich in March 2013, with the theme of archetypes: an investigation into the core of jewellery, an attempt to explore where the boundaries of the field lie and whether there are any boundaries at all. The motto, printed in every issue, captures the editorial philosophy: "Jewellery is what you make of it."
Apart from jewellery artists and critics, the magazine features material researchers, fashion designers, collagists, and contributors whose work intersects with adornment in unexpected ways. Each issue is built around a theme — archetypes, youth, language, value — and the editorial approach tells inspiring stories about people and places, touching upon subjects that redefine what jewellery means in a contemporary context. Featured artists have included Karl Fritsch, Atelier Ted Noten, Ruudt Peters, Otto Künzli, Lin Cheung, and dozens of emerging practitioners whose work pushes the boundaries of the medium.
The magazine has also grown into a curatorial force. In 2017, Current Obsession launched OBSESSED!, a biennial jewellery festival that connects artists, galleries, and institutions across the Netherlands and Belgium into a single programme of exhibitions, talks, workshops, and open studios. With the guidance of art historian Marjan Unger and internationally renowned jewellery artist Ruudt Peters, the festival has helped re-establish the Netherlands as a leading force in contemporary jewellery. For a field that is often marginalised within the broader art world, Current Obsession provides something essential: visibility, community, and the insistence that jewellery is not a minor art but a major one.
Explore Current Obsession at <a href="https://www.current-obsession.com/" target="\_blank">current-obsession.com