Pal Kepenyes (born 1946) is a Hungarian-born, Mexico-based jewelry artist and sculptor, internationally recognized for his fantastical, organic designs in silver and precious stones.

Born in Budapest in the aftermath of World War II, Kepenyes spent his early years in Europe before emigrating to the United States and eventually settling in Mexico in the late 1960s. He made Taxco, Guerrero—Mexico’s historic center of silverwork—his permanent home, where he established his workshop and developed a distinctive artistic language that bridges European surrealism, mythology, and Mexican silversmithing traditions.

Kepenyes is best known for his sculptural jewelry, often featuring biomorphic forms, insects, mythological creatures, masks, and hybrid human-animal figures. His work is typically executed in sterling silver, frequently combined with gold accents, semi-precious stones, and occasionally exotic materials. Each piece is conceived as a small sculpture rather than a conventional adornment, emphasizing movement, texture, and narrative symbolism.

Unlike many commercial jewelers, Pal Kepenyes maintained a studio-driven, artisanal approach, producing limited quantities and often one-of-a-kind works. His designs are unmistakable: bold, expressive, sometimes whimsical, and often slightly dark or dreamlike—reflecting both personal history and surrealist influence.

Over the decades, his jewelry has been collected by museums, serious collectors, and celebrities, and his pieces are frequently associated with the golden lineage of Taxco modernist silver, alongside figures such as William Spratling and Hector Aguilar, though Kepenyes’ aesthetic is markedly more fantastical and sculptural.

Today, Pal Kepenyes is regarded as a cult figure in 20th-century and contemporary Mexican silver jewelry, with his works commanding strong prices on the international art and design market and continuing to influence younger generations of studio jewelers.