THE DESIGNERS OF KPM BERLIN

In every style era since its foundation in 1763, outstanding creative minds have designed for the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. Among them are world-famous artists such as Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Trude Petri, Marguerite Friedlaender-Wildenhain and Enzo Mari. Their designs have shaped not only the history of the manufactory, but also their time - and are still groundbreaking today.

THOMAS WENZEL (*1963)

Thomas Wenzel has headed the artistic development department at KPM since 1993. In the 1990s, he worked with Italian designer Enzo Mari on the creation of the BERLIN form, which won the iF Design Award. Wenzel's ability to work across disciplines is evident in collaborations with partners such as Bugatti, Burmester and Bottega Veneta. In 2013, to mark the manufacturer's 250th anniversary, he developed the KURLAND BLANC NOUVEAU collection, whose alternation between glazed surfaces and matte reliefs creates a very special visual and tactile experience. Wenzel's current designs include the LAB series of minimalist, technical-looking pieces, the award-winning KPM coffee filter and the KURLAND to-go cup, which is already considered iconic.

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In Thomas Wenzel’s kitchen cupboard
I am looking for a challenge

ENZO MARI (1932 - 2020)

Enzo Mari was one of the most intellectually influential and influential international designers of the 20th century. In his work he dealt with questions of visual perception, and his style was characterized by clarity. The Milanese artist worked for KPM Berlin from 1993 to 1996. The plates and bowls of the BERLIN collection he designed during this time are based on the classic basic shape of the chalice. The accompanying jug impresses with its almost perfectly spherical shape, and its inverted handle gives it an innovative touch. The slim, upward-looking MARI vases have a brushed stainless steel base that gives them a secure, modern stand.

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The KPM honors Enzo Mari
Master of form: Enzo Mari and the KPM

TRUDE PETRI (1906 - 1998)

After training as a potter in Hamburg, Trude Petri initially worked as a freelancer for the Berlin manufactory in 1928. A year later, she was hired as a full-time designer and - at just 25 years old - designed the URBINO dinner service in the New Objectivity style. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937, the no-frills collection, based on the basic shapes of a sphere and a circle, won the Grand Prix and even made it into the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Trude Petri produced her last design for the manufactory in 1967: the square CADRE vase is still a bestseller today.

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Trude Petri and the KPM Berlin

SIEGMUND SCHÜTZ (1906 - 1998)

After studying sculpture and wood design, Siegmund Schütz worked as an artistic employee at KPM Berlin from 1932 to 1970. During this time, he had a significant influence on the design of modern porcelain. He was particularly interested in surface design: Schütz designed numerous decorations in deep and flat relief. Schütz found the motifs for sculptural relief decorations (for example for the ARKADIA tea service designed by Trude Petri) in natural forms and models from classical antiquity.
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Siegmund Schütz and the graceful medallions of the ARKADIA collection

MARGUERITE FRIEDLAENDER-WILDENHAIN (1896-1985)

After studying at the University of Applied Arts in Berlin, Marguerite Friedlaender-Wildenhain entered the State Bauhaus in Weimar in 1919. Ten years later, she became head of the ceramics workshop at the famous Burg Giebichenstein State School of Applied Arts in Halle. In collaboration with KPM Berlin, she created numerous designs for everyday porcelain that were later implemented in Berlin. In 1929, for example, the minimalist HALLE mocha service or the HALLE vase group in 1931. When the National Socialists came to power, Friedlaender-Wildenhain's career as a porcelain designer in Germany came to an abrupt end. She moved to the Netherlands and opened a small but successful pottery studio. In 1940, she emigrated to the USA.
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HOW MARGUERITE FRIEDLAENDER SHAPED THE KPM

GERHARD MARCKS (1889-1981)

Bauhaus professor Gerhard Marcks was one of the most important German sculptors of the 20th century. With his work he manifested the convergence of art and pure functional form - as it was realized at the Bauhaus. From 1929 to 1938 Marcks designed style-defining pieces for the factory, such as the set of candy bowls, which set new standards with its clear formal language and functionality.

CHARLES FRIEDRICH SCHINKEL (1781-1841)

Karl Friedrich Schinkel had a lasting influence on the architecture of classical Prussia. The multi-talented artist also made outstanding achievements in the fields of interior design, design and painting. Schinkel's clear formal language and his departure from the sweeping curves of the Baroque were in keeping with the Prussian Enlightenment. In the years 1818 to 1831 in particular, the Royal Porcelain Manufactory produced a treasure trove of models based on Schinkel's designs that have not lost any of their importance. One example is the classical Schinkel basket with its delicately perforated wickerwork. Schinkel designed it in 1820 on behalf of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. It is still elaborately manufactured in the manufactory today.

JOHANN GOTTFRIED SCHADOW (1764-1850)

Johann Gottfried Schadow began drawing lessons at the age of twelve. After an apprenticeship with the court sculptor Jean Pierre Antoine Tassaert, he was employed in his studio. A stay in Italy was followed by his appointment as a teacher and designer at the Art Academy and the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. Head of the court sculpture workshop and director of the art academy, he shaped the Berlin art scene in the first half of the 19th century.

In 1795, Johann Gottfried Schadow created the Princess Group , a double statue of Crown Princess Luise of Prussia and her younger sister Friederike, in marble on behalf of the Prussian King Frederick William II. A smaller version in biscuit porcelain was produced for the KPM Berlin.