Otto Künzli
1948 Born in Zurich, CH. 1965-1970 Schule für Gestaltung Zürich, CH, metal class. 1970 Final apprenticeship examination as goldsmith. 1970-1972 Worked in various workshops in Zurich, Bern, CH and Munich. 1972 Moved to Ingelsberg in Bavaria. 1972-1978 Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, Munich, class for goldsmithing under Prof. Hermann Jünger. Since 1975 Workshop and residence in Munich. 1978 Diploma at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München. 1991 Appointed professor at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, Chair of Goldsmiths’ Art.

Teaching activities and projects
1974 Participation in the international symposium “Schmuck aus Stahl”, AT. 1986, 1987, 1989 Guest lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, US. 1988 Teaching assignment at the Royal College of Art, London, GB. 1990 Invited by the Goethe-Institut to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, lectures and workshops, Dunedin; Power House Museum, Sydney; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne; Canberra Institute of the Arts, Canberra; La Salle, Singapore. 1992 Honorary Fellow of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, IL. Since 1993, numerous lectures and teaching assignments at Hiko Mizuno College, JP. 1994-2015 Member of the purchasing commission for the jewellery collection of the Danner-Stiftung, Munich. 2000 Visiting Fellow and Artist-in-Residence at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, AU. 2001 Idea and realisation of the international exhibition “Mikromegas”. 2008 Exhibition and publication concept “Des Wahnsinns fette Beute” in Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich. 2008-2012 Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Art, London, department for goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork & jewellery, GB. 2010 Exhibition concept “Copy and Paste” as the contribution of the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München to the international project “The Power of Copying” at the Xuzhou Museum of Art, Xuzhou, CN. 2010 Artist in Residence, Konstfack, Stockholm, SE. 2014 “Danner Rotunda. New.” Design of the presentation of the jewellery room of the Danner Rotunda, Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich. 2014 Emeritus Professor at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, Munich. 2014 Visiting Artist at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, CH. 2018 Lectured and taught at Art College, Xiamen, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou and The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, CN.
Awards
1972 and 1978 Scholarship of the Eidgenössischen Departement des Innern, Bern, CH. 1976 Leistungspreis der Schule für Gestaltung, Zurich, CH. 1977 Herbert-Hofmann-Preis, Munich. 1980 Stipendium für Bildende Kunst der Landeshauptstadt München, Munich. 1987 Förderpreis für Angewandte Kunst der Landeshauptstadt München, Munich. 1990 Françoise van den Bosch Award, Amsterdam, NL. 2008 Red Dot Award Communication Design for the exhibition design “Des Wahnsinns fette Beute. Schmuck an der Akademie der Bildenden Künste München: Die Klasse Künzli”. Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich. 2008 Gallery Funaki International Jewellery Award, Winner, Melbourne, AU. 2010 Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany, Silver, for the exhibition design “Des Wahnsinns fette Beute. Schmuck an der Akademie der Bildenden Künste München: Die Klasse Künzli”, Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich. 2010 Grand Prix Design of the Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern, CH. 2011 Ehrenring der Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst, Hanau. 2017 Designpreis der Landeshauptstadt München, Munich. 2018 Bayerischer Staatspreis, Munich.
Works in public collections
Rijksmuseum Museum, Amsterdam, NL. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, NL. Gemeentelijk van Reekummuseum, Apeldoorn, NL. Auckland Museum, Auckland, NZ. Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern, CH. Kantonale Sammlung angewandte Kunst, Kornhausforum, Bern, CH. Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Bern, CH. Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Booragul, NSW, AU. Museum of Fine Arts, The Farago Collection, Boston, US. Musée du Bijou contemporain – Espace Solidor, Cagnes-sur-Mer, FR. Canberra Institute of the Arts, Canberra, AU. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, AU. Dallas Museum of Art, The Edward W. and Deedie Potter Rose Collection, Dallas, US. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, US. Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt am Main. Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, GB. Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg. Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus, Hanau. Designmuseo, Helsinki, FI. Design Museum Den Bosch, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, NL. The Museum of Fine Arts, The Helen Williams Drutt Collection, Houston, US. Israel Museum, Jerusalem, IL. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, US. Deutsches Tapetenmuseum, Kassel. The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, JP. Kolumba, Kunstmuseum des Erzbistums Köln, Cologne. Mudac – Musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains Lausanne, CH. Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas, US. GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Leipzig. Galeria Sztuki, Legnica, PL. Design Museum, London, GB. The Royal College of Art Collection, London, GB. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, GB. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, US. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, AU. Cleveland Crafts Centre, Cleveland County Collection, Middlesbrough, UK. MIMA – Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK. Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich. Stadtmuseum München, Munich. Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, US. Museum of Arts and Design, New York, US. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US. Le Ministère de la Culture, Centre National des Arts, Paris, FR. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, FR. Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim. Power House Museum, Sydney, AU. Hiko Mizuno Collection, Tokyo, JP. National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, JP. Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, JP. Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim, NO. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ. Gewerbemuseum Winterthur, CH. Schweizerisches Nationalmusem, Zurich, CH.