- Freeman revolutionised New Zealand jewellery with a distinctive, trans-cultural artistic language, bridging Māori and Western cultures
- He creates jewellery using traditional New Zealand materials like pounamu and pāua
- Exhibition: Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich (DE) running March 15–June 15, 2025; Objectspace, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Auckland (NZ) in November 2025, and The Dowse Art Museum in Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt in July 2026
- Text in English and German
Warwick Freeman (b. 1953) is regarded as one of the world’s most influential contemporary jewellery artists. His works tell of his life, culture, and history, as well as the history of Aotearoa New Zealand and the country’s unique materials from millimetre thick mother-of-pearl from the pearl shell to the iridescent inner membrane of the pāua (a rainbow abalone).
In the 1980s Freeman co-revolutionised the world of New Zealand jewellery, which led to the creation of a unique artistic language. Initially influenced by western jewellery traditions, and later impacted by a growing awareness of Māori and Pacific adornment practices, Freeman has built a language of emblematic forms across five decades. Through jewellery making he discovers symbols that connect us — from Hook to Hand to Heart to Star.
Text in English and German.