CGD

Eva Eisler (b. 1952 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a designer, jeweler, architect, interdisciplinary artist and teacher whose work freely combines various creative disciplines. Pushing the limits is an organic process for her, so despite the diverse media, structures and shapes she uses in her work, we find it to be surprisingly harmonious and coherent. Her pieces are connected by their liberating austerity and balance of form that finds profound content and meaning in space – both the inner spaces created by her works, as well as the outer spaces they shape. Her forms and structures juxtapose order and chaos in a dynamic relationship in which one mirrors the other to such a degree that they become almost identical. The breadth of Eva Eisler’s creative gamut in no way limits the intensity of her diverse oeuvre.

Eva studied at Prague’s Secondary Technical School of Civil Engineering between 1967–1971 and later (1971–1973) at the Václav Hollar Art School in Prague. Her original jewelry was first published in the Umění a řemesla magazine in 1976. A year later, she married architect John Eisler and in 1983, she and their two sons joined him in New York for his internship. The temporary residence soon turned into long-term emigration, and the couple returned to Czechia only in 2006.

While in New York, she focused on creating jewelry in her home studio on 86th street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. From 1993 onwards, their apartment became an inspiring meeting place for artists, architects and other culture aficionados, as well as an occasional temporary haven for her compatriots. In 1984, she undertook an internship at the Parsons School of Design, and a year later her jewelry became part of the prestigious, internationally exhibited Helen William Drutt Collection of studio jewelry (Helen Drutt, 1973–2002, curator and gallerist, founder of the Helen Drutt Gallery in Philadelphia).

She also started teaching at the Parsons School of Design (1987–1988, 1991) and then at New York University, Steinhardt School of Education and Department of Applied Arts (2000–2003). Apart from her own original works, she also worked on product design, like for the German company Mono, as well as interiors and exhibition architecture for many notable institutions. In 1995, she designed the new interiors of the Czech Center in New York. It was in 2021 that she for the first time created her first objects and jewelry based on the infinite loop, the so-called Möbius strip, which she has since then been revisiting.

In 2006 the Eislers moved back to Prague and in 2007, Eva Eisler became head of the Metal and Jewelry studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague which soon thereafter reformed under the name K.O.V. (Koncept Objekt Význam / Concept Object Meaning). Although she stopped teaching in 2023, over the course of her long career she always encouraged her students to adopt an interdisciplinary approach, inspiring them to search for new paths and experiment with form and materials. She educated an entire generation of strong, creative personalities. In 2010 she became Associate Professor, and in 2019 she received the title of Professor.

The works of Eva Eisler have been included in international collections including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Arts and Design in New York, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal, Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich and others. Eva Eisler has produced a number of solo exhibitions around the world, for example in New York, London and Munich, and she continues to regularly exhibit in the Czech Republic. She is also often approached by Czech and international galleries as hosting curator for exhibitions of modern collectable jewelry. She has received numerous awards, among them the EDIDA Award 2015 for Light Design; Form 2003 Award, Bundesverband Kunsthandwerk; the Czech Grand Design Awards title of Jewelry Designer of the Year for 2013 and 2014, and others.

Michaela Kádnerová