Helga Exner (née Menzel; born 9 October 1939) is a Czech-born Danish goldsmith and jewellery designer, recognized as one of Denmark's most significant contemporary jewellery artists.
Early Life and Background
Helga Exner was born on 9 October 1939 in Jablonec (Gablonz), Czechoslovakia, to engineer Heinrich Menzel (1913–1979) and Maria Theresia née Dressler. Her family had been involved in jewellery-making for several generations until the Second World War ended their business in 1945. During the war, her father was taken prisoner, and her mother fled with Helga and her three sisters to East Germany. Helga was smuggled across to the western zone to live with her grandparents in Bavaria, where she attended a Roman Catholic school. The family was later reunited with her father and settled in West Germany.
Education and Career
At age 16, Helga began a goldsmith apprenticeship with Herbert Seufert in Bad Godesberg near Bonn, receiving her journeyman's diploma in 1960. It was there she met the Danish goldsmith Bent Exner (1932–2006). The couple married on 3 January 1961 and moved to Denmark, establishing a joint workshop in the village of Hald near Randers. They worked together until their marriage was dissolved in 1983.
During the 1960s, Helga Exner emerged as a groundbreaking jewellery artist, creating works in strict, geometric forms. She also produced numerous church decorations. After the separation, she established her own workshop, first in Aarhus and later in Odder. From 1986, she developed a new style, expanding the concept of jewellery into "smykkebilleder" (jewellery pictures) — small reliefs in silver, enamel, and amber depicting landscapes, architectural forms, or flocks of birds by the sea. These pieces were often displayed against woven tapestries or collages.
Awards and Recognition
- Hofjuvelér Michelsens Jub.legat (1967)
- Grauballe (1967)
- Lunning Prize (1969, jointly with Bent Exner)
- Hirschsprung (1970)
- Gold Medal at Internationale Schmuckschau, Munich (1972, jointly with Bent Exner)
Exhibitions
Exner has exhibited widely, including at Charlottenborg (1966), Grønningen (1970), the Danish Museum of Art & Design (Kunstindustrimuseet, 1969, 1976, 1979), the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (1968), and numerous solo exhibitions at museums across Denmark. A retrospective was held at Frederikshavn Kunstmuseum in 2019.
Selected Works
- Altar decorations for Nørrelandskirken, Holstebro (1971); Christianskirken, Fredericia (1972); Ny Kirke, Billund (1973)
- Altar cross for Sædden Kirke (1982)
- Mayor's chain for Hirtshals (1989)
- Series of jewellery pictures for a church in Greece (1990)
- Summer and harvest jewellery pictures in amber (1991)
- Decoration of a "lystræ" (light tree) for Odder Sognekirke (2023)
Personal Life
Helga Exner married Bent Exner in 1961; the marriage was dissolved in 1983. She married physician Peter Schou on 8 June 1988 in Odder. She is the mother of Andreas Exner.
References
- Lehmann, Lilli (2003). "Helga Exner (1939 – )". Kvinfo.
- Pedersen, Hanne (1994). "Helga Exner". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon.
- Sylow, Aase (8 April 2021). "Helga Exner". Den Store Danske.
- Wikipedia, "Helga Exner".
