Mahler feest Amsterdam, 1995 1995

This small silver coin, made in 1995 by the Koninklijke Utrechtsche Fabriek van Zilverwerken van C.J. Begeer, commemorates the Mahler festival in Amsterdam. The artist has carefully shaped this piece, pressing the metal, coaxing the forms of text and portrait from the blank surface. It's incredible to think about how the artist worked with the material, pushing it around to create these raised and recessed areas. I imagine the artist thinking deeply about Mahler, about music, and about how to translate that into a visual and tactile experience. Maybe they listened to Mahler while working on this, letting the music guide their hands. The portrait, caught in profile, is so precise, and yet it's also kind of abstracted into this solid, silver form. I think it's a bit like painting, trying to capture something real but always transforming it through your own vision and process. It makes me think about other artists who have been inspired by music, like Kandinsky, or even visual artists who feature on currency like Dora Maar. It’s cool to see artists across time inspiring each other!