ArtistSwedish
Rey Urban
12 active items
Rey Urban was born in Stockholm on September 14, 1929, and became one of the defining figures in Swedish mid-century silversmithing. He enrolled at Konstfack - the University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm - in 1947 to study metalwork, graduating in 1951. He became a journeyman in 1953 and received his master silversmith's certification in 1955. Even before completing his studies, he had founded his workshop, Silversmeden Rey Urban, around 1950, setting up a studio and showroom in Stockholm that would remain the center of his practice for decades.
Urban's work sits at the intersection of fine craft and modernist sculpture. His technique was rooted in hand-hammering, a method that leaves the mark of the maker's hand visible in the finished surface, giving each piece a tactile quality that sets it apart from industrially produced silver. His designs range from open-form bracelets and necklaces to hollowware, serving objects, and ecclesiastical pieces - he created silver objects for churches in Sweden, adding a ceremonial dimension to his practice that went beyond the decorative.
In the 1960s, Urban joined his colleagues Claës E. Giertta and Lars Fleming in a multi-year touring exhibition under the name "Tre Smeder" (The Three Smiths). The project took them to venues across Sweden and was widely regarded as an articulation of what the contemporary craft jeweler could achieve: that the inherent beauty of silver and the quality of making could stand alongside design intent as equal partners in the finished object. The three silversmiths made the case, piece by piece, that jewelry could function as genuine personal expression.
Urban exhibited internationally throughout his career, showing work in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, New York, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. His work entered the permanent collection of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the country's foremost museum of art and design. He died in 2015, leaving behind a body of work that has seen sustained interest from collectors of Scandinavian mid-century jewelry both in Sweden and internationally.
On the auction market, Urban's silver is handled by leading Swedish houses including Kaplans Auktioner, Stockholms Auktionsverk, Bukowskis, Metropol, and Crafoord Auktioner. The 40 items in the Auctionist database span bracelets, rings, necklaces, pendants, and silver objects. Top realized prices include 7,400 SEK for a set of six sterling silver drinking cups from 1996, and 5,700 SEK for a hammered open-form bracelet. His work commands steady collector interest, particularly among buyers drawn to the brutalist and modernist currents in postwar Scandinavian design.