What We Keep by Julia Obermaier

Artist list

Julia Obermaier

Stones fascinate me. Every little part of them is unique and an embodiment of unswayable nature. It is as if the stone keeps the eternity within itself, resisting the fast pace of our time.
/ Julia Obermaier

Stone lies at the heart of Julia Obermaier's artistic practice. With playful forms and exceptional craftsmanship, she renders everyday objects and fleeting moments – such as an erased thought or a hastily written note – in stone, transforming the ephemeral into something enduring. In this transformation, memory takes on a material presence, evoking touch, sound, smell, and lived experience, bringing what once seemed past into the present.

With support from the Swedish Arts Council, Region Jämtland Härjedalen and IASPIS, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee´s International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts.

Julia Obermaier is the first international guest artist to participate in Galleri Smedjan's newly established Artist in Residence programme. She will be based in Jämtland for five weeks in August – September 2026. Galleri Smedjan AIR 2026 focuses on artistic development while strengthening the international networks of locally based artists.

Galleri Smedjan AIR 2026 is organized in collaboration with Gomorron Östersund, with support from the Swedish Arts Council, Region Jämtland Härjedalen and IASPIS, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee´s International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts.


Julia Obermaier, (b. 1989) is a jewellery artist based in Kempten, Germany. She studied at the University of Applied Sciences Trier, Campus Idar-Oberstein (BFA), and at Munich University of Applied Sciences, where she received her MA in 2019. Her work has received several international distinctions, including awards and recognition at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 and the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2022.


Exhibition opening: Thursday August 6th, 17.00–19.00 h.
Artist talk: Tuesday August 25th, 16.00 h at Tegelmagsinet, in collaboration with Gomorron Östersund.