CARLA KLEIN AND HER MEDALS

The medal with the Self-portrait of Carla Klein (see above), was made on request of her husband in 1996 for his 50th birthday. The agreement was to have only one cast, but the founder cast three fine samples. The first one went to the husband, the second one to the Rijksmuseum Het Koninklijk Penningkabinet and the third to Carla's sister in the United States, so that the medal remained in this way unique. The front side features her face en-profil turned to the left with on her left shoulder one of her cats, Digger, looking to the right. The cat is supported by the right hand of its owner. The reverse is symbolic. A circle is placed in the middle with the monogram CK. In the second circle the names of ther husband and two cats were modeled: Arnold, Digger and Fari. On the third circle she put her profession: SCULPTRESS MEDALLIST (beeldhouwster medailleur). The raised border in the fourth circle underscores the circular shape. Briefly and to the point she says about this creation: 'This is my world around which all revolve.' 

QUIET STRENGTH - My admiration for Carla Klein's medals is not without foundation. She has learned it on her own. Her teacher on the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, professor Piet Esser, taught her from 1967 until 1972 the technique of making sculptures, but not of making medals; Carla only began with that after she had left the Rijksakademie. Esser confirmed this in a talk I had with him in December 1999. Moreover, Carla works on a medal at least six months, whereas modelling sculptures demands less time. That is probably the reason why so few sculptors make medals. Obviously I'm very grateful to the sculptress for having drawn my attention to the beauty of medal art. What started as a hesitant discussion about coins and medals turned into a fascinating hobby. Carla often talks about the creations of her teacher Esser and the medallist Christl Seth-Höfner, for whom she has great admiration. Afterwards Heide Dobberkau was added. Carla considers their medals real works of art. Apart from that she considers the Renaissance medals as a high point. Carla herself worked in all peace and quiet on her oeuvre. She didn't bother very much about the various currents or trends which took place in medal art. As a result she developed in the course of years a particular style of her own. The models are sculptured and there is little polishing and filing to get a smoother surface. The sculptress remained faithful to herself and the task she had put herself: to create as well as possible medals within the traditional circle. There is still an ongoing growth in her work. Her medals have through their intensity a quiet strength, which you will experience when you have the medals for some time in your possession. From an artistic point of view Carla Klein reached a great height and as far as her technical skill is concerned: from the above it's obvious that she belongs to the few medallists who still really master the making of portrait medals.

Arnold Nieuwendam

Carla's work as a sculptor and a producer of medals is truly her life. Modest to an extreme, yet in a wayward manner, she pursues her own course. She allows herself to be entranced by such things as movement, music and fascinated by ancient cultures such as the Etruscan world and Greece in the Antiquity Period. Quantity is no item; what she aims at is lasting quality and artisticity. We can find both in her sculptural solutions. Carla does not design medals which resemble coins with a low relief, but indeed small sculptures with a high relief. The sober interior of her studio breathes serenity, so characteristic of her personal approach to work. Modelling and shaping she reveals emotions, making them accessible to us all. Her work has a distinct meditative radiation, reflecting sophisticated humorous aspects. And so, a centuries old tradition is produced in an manner which is clearly of our time - in her statues as well as in her medals.