Sylvia Gottwald

SYLVIA GOTTWALD studied Fine Arts in Rome and Montreal before arriving in the Cambridge, Massachusetts to earn a Masters in Architecture at Harvard, and pursue further study in urban planning at MIT. She worked internationally as a designer, architect and urban planner, and she promoted and funded preservation of cultural heritage and protection of endangered marine aquariums threatened by overexploitation and pollution. Her worldwide travels allowed her to indulge her passion for collecting rare shells and handcrafted treasures made from mother of pearl. At the outset of the millennium, a new career direction was conceptualized where her passion for design would merge with her mission for the protection of the environment, specifically, the oceans. Her first collection of the ocean objects d’art and jewelry was produced in Paris, France and the materials were sourced from the sustainable pearl farms in the South Pacific. Her designs with pearls and nacre (mother of pearl) are unique pieces in limited editions, created from 7 species of pearl producing shells, and various sea and fresh water pearls. As a master of grand design and detail, her signature repertoire of dramatic forms and shapes juxtaposed against steel and rubber, have dazzled European, Asian and American audiences in every venue in which they have been exhibited. Sylvia Gottwald lives in Washington, DC and on the island of Korcula in Croatia, where she also has design galleries.