About BJØRG

Gold-coloured sculptural object displayed on a wooden box on a worn wooden chair

Black-and-white photograph of a pendant necklace draped over a pointed wooden form

Black-and-white photograph of a hand wearing a sculptural ring against dark hair

BJØRG STUDIO

Anatomy becomes jewellery. A spine becomes a chain. Letters take the shape of bodies in motion. Metal takes on mineral forms.

Founded in 2004 by Norwegian artist Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen, BJØRG is an independent jewellery studio exploring familiar things through unexpected forms, proportions and materials.

Objects for the body. What they mean is not fixed.

Sunlit studio with a glass-topped wooden table, books, a wooden form and white sculptural studies

DESIGN & PROCESS

Tall white crystal form held against a hand at a workbench with a tool in the foreground

Row of irregular metal form studies on paper labelled A to L

Selection of coloured precious stones on a glass plate, with reflected light and shadows

Stacks of labelled rubber casting moulds beside a mirror in the BJØRG studio — Silicone and rubber moulds for casting in the BJØRG studio.

Four coloured and translucent ear studies on wire stands with coloured bases, displaying earrings on a wooden table — Life-size ear sculptures, cast in the BJØRG studio for exhibition.

Black-and-white photograph of hands using pliers to shape a metal loop, with rows of irregular metal loops on a wooden workbench

Black-and-white photograph of hands using a torch and tweezers on small metal parts at a workbench

Black-and-white photograph of Albert the dog wearing a sculptural silver-coloured chain — Albert.

Ideas emerge from drawings, photographs, found objects, fragments of nature or forms that refuse to leave the mind.

Bjørg typically begins by sculpting each object herself, working directly with wax, metal, stone, textiles or clay. Forms develop through the hand: proportions shift, surfaces change, and unexpected details become part of the final piece.

The work then moves between the studio and a network of specialist jewellers, casters, stone cutters and other craftspeople. Traditional techniques meet experimental approaches, allowing each material and form to find its own expression.

MATERIALS & INSPIRATION

Three translucent oval stones in pale pink, green and yellow tones casting long shadows on a grey surface

Black-and-white photograph of an octopus hanging over a wire above the sea

BJØRG works primarily with silver, gold and natural stones, alongside textiles, ceramics, horsehair, glass, bronze and occasionally wood.

Nature and art are central to Bjørg’s practice. From geological formations and organic structures to modern and contemporary art, surrealism, ancient cultures and architecture, diverse visual worlds inform a sculptural language that is distinctly her own.

Natural stones have long been a particular fascination. Drawn to their rough surfaces, mineral inclusions, unexpected colours and the irregular beauty of antique cuts, Bjørg often begins with a specimen rather than a preconceived design. A stone may determine the form of an object, its proportions or the direction a piece takes.

Unexpected combinations and unusual cuts give familiar materials a different presence. The work follows the character of a surface, the tension between materials, or qualities revealed through making.

Materials are allowed to remain themselves. Silver oxidises, stones vary in colour and structure, and surfaces evolve through wear. These changes are not imperfections to be erased, but part of the object’s ongoing life.

Five irregular stone-like forms on a pale surface, with white flame-like shapes rising above three of them

Black-and-white photograph of four irregular baroque pearls resting in a hand, with rows of pearls behind

Silver casts of meteorite forms arranged on a pale surface — Silver casts of meteorites and biominerals.

Silver-coloured jewellery with irregular looping forms draped over rough dark rock

SIGNATURES & ICONS

Vertebrae and loose bones arranged on a weathered wooden table

Sculptural silver-coloured spine body chain worn across the chest with arms crossed

Long silver-coloured Spine cuff worn over a black sleeve beside a pale stone sculpture

Silver-coloured anatomical heart pendant on a chain lying on wet sand

Black-and-white portrait with a Human Alphabet A pendant in front of an open mouth and its chain draped over the nose

Silver-coloured Human Alphabet A, B and C pendants worn across the upper chest

Gold-coloured Sacred Heart pendant on a red cord worn across the collarbone, photographed at an angle over the shoulder

BJØRG does not follow a strict seasonal system. Some forms appear once; others return, changing subtly over time.

The Signature Collection and The Icons bring together recurring forms including Spines, Human Hearts, Human Alphabet and Human Numbers. Anatomical structures become sculptural jewellery. Letters and numbers carry names, dates and private meanings, transforming the body into a personal language.

These are not fixed symbols. Their meaning develops through the person who wears them, and through the marks left by time.

THE ARCHIVE & OBJECTS

The Archive gathers experiments, rare pieces and objects from different moments in the studio’s history. Unusual stones, unexpected proportions and ideas that never became recurring collections sit alongside forms that have continued to evolve.

Large white crystal necklace with hanging chains worn against a black shirt

Hand with dark purple nails wearing a ring with a broad fan of dark brown horsehair

Black-and-white photograph of a drop earring worn against dark hair, surrounded by a pale border

White-gloved hand holding three sculptural silver-coloured rings with blue faceted stones

Black-and-white photograph of sculptural wax models for spoons and a fork, casting strong shadows — Wax models for sculptural cutlery.

Hands wearing sculptural rings using silver-coloured cutlery over a white plate, with a bracelet against a white shirt cuff

Pale pink anatomical ceramic heart mounted on a textured wall, with diagonal sunlight and a soft shadow — Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen, 2026
Wall piece in ceramic

Lit sculptural clay candle draped over a round table, with a hand wearing a silver-coloured ring against a blue curtain

Objects extends the practice beyond jewellery into sculptural works in silver, bronze, ceramic, glass, wood and other materials. Some are made to be worn; others to be held, used, kept or displayed.

PRE-ORDER & BESPOKE

Many BJØRG designs, including signature pieces and rings in different sizes, are produced on pre-order rather than in large quantities in advance.

Alongside the collections, the studio creates bespoke wedding rings and customised fine jewellery in dialogue with each client. Proportions, materials, stones and details are explored individually, allowing each piece to take shape around the person who will wear them.

Close-up of intertwined hands wearing two gold-coloured rings set with small stones

BJØRG solid gold bespoke rings displayed on bent wire stands, casting shadows on a sunlit wall above a wooden shelf

BJØRG NORDLI-MATHISEN

Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen grew up beyond the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, where changing light, dark winters and the textures of coast and mountain became part of her visual vocabulary.

After years of travelling and exploring art and textiles, she moved to India. Encounters with local crafts and natural gemstones led her towards jewellery, opening a new way to work with form, material and the body.

Since then, her life and practice have extended across Asia, Copenhagen, Oslo, New York and Italy.

Photography has been part of Bjørg’s practice from the beginning, running alongside the objects. Bodies, landscapes, found things and moments from life form a visual language of their own. Not everything becomes an object. Most remain dreams.

Articulated wooden figure seated on a studio shelf among glass objects, sculptural forms and colourful material studies in sunlight

Bjørg’s mother standing beside water with a mountain behind her on Senja, northern Norway — Bjørg’s mother on Senja, northern Norway.

Close-up of a grey-green eye and surrounding skin

Hand wearing a sculptural silver-coloured bracelet and ring resting in grass beside a small white daisy held by another hand

Two cut pomegranate halves with red seeds against a pale background

Black shoe with a silver-coloured ring around its heel resting on a bent leg in dark tights

Small irregular sculptural forms in blue, yellow, pink and dark tones on a studio shelf, with thin wires casting shadows on the wall

Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen holding a camera beside the sea in Vesterålen, northern Norway, at midnight in 2006 — Bjørg in Vesterålen, northern Norway. Midnight.

Sculptural silver-coloured spoon on a pale rectangular block resting on a stack of sculpture books and papers

Shells, stones, dried plant fragments and small sculptural objects arranged in rows on a pale textured surface

Black-and-white photograph of Bjørg’s father lying in a flower meadow with his arms folded across his chest — Bjørg’s father.

Silver-coloured necklaces arranged across an open photography book on a brown leather sofa

Black-and-white portrait of Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen wearing sunglasses and holding a small dog on a city street — Bjørg and Trine in New York

COLLABORATIONS & EXHIBITIONS

Collaboration has allowed BJØRG to explore the space between jewellery, art and the body through other creative perspectives.

Over several years, Bjørg developed an extensive fine jewellery collection with Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard, translating his drawings into sculptural forms. Diamonds and vividly coloured gemstones became part of a visual language in which jewellery approached painting.

Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen and Bjarne Melgaard wearing jewellery and sunglasses, seated together at a table — Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen and Bjarne Melgaard.

Stone-set eye and lips displayed on a pale stitched bust with loose dark threads, from the Bjørg and Bjarne Melgaard collaboration — Bjørg × Bjarne Melgaard. Material study.

Pink and colourless diamonds seen through a circular magnifying lens

BJØRG signature pieces were worn in David Bowie’s The Stars (Are Out Tonight).

Bedroom scene from David Bowie’s The Stars (Are Out Tonight) music video featuring BJØRG jewellery — BJØRG jewellery in David Bowie’s *The Stars (Are Out Tonight)*.

Exhibition room with colourful suspended vitrines and a pink floor installation enclosed by black railings

BJØRG × Bjarne Melgaard was exhibited at Gavin Brown’s enterprise in New York and the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo. Selected pieces were also featured in Medusa at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and later showcased at Fitzpatrick Gallery in Paris.