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Stones fascinate me. Every little part of them is unique and an embodiment for unswayable nature. A human being can shape a stone but not fabricate one. The material stone has something majestic. It is a hard-bitten material, heavy, stable but also light and fragile. Stonecutting takes a lot of time and patience and resembles a meditation. It is as if the stone keeps the eternity within itself to thwart the fast pace of our time.

In my ongoing series of work “(Sur)face the space” I cut slices out of stone and build up new spaces. In their inside, hollow spaces are developing with corners and nooks. These are constructions, which enclose blank spaces and create free spaces. Through that process, a kind of body for your soul is generated, which can be loaded up with the wearers own personal feelings, perceptions and sensations. It protects the wearer’s inner space, like a second skin.

Personal space is a fundamental topic in my artistic work. Nowadays it gets more and more difficult to get your own spaces due to increasing prices in the world of real estate. It’s hard to find an affordable place, where you not just reside but also have a living. Because of this reason, the „Betongold“- Series are little houses out of concrete, which you can wear in your daily life to have your own little space with you. It all started with a drawing of ‘Santa Claus’-house, the first house I have known and sketched as a child. These drawings are the fundament of this series. With a fine gold nugget in its core, it resembles the importance of your own space.

The diamond has always played an important role in the history of mankind. Today it is charged with numerous symbolic and cultural aspects. Within the framework of the project "The Great Sparkle - About changing values of Diamonds", I am dealing with the various facets of this symbolic charge. In the process, both historical and mystical references are highlighted and the significance for contemporary cultural developments is examined. Current influences on the different receptions of the gemstone are analysed and individually commented on in this body of work.

These pins are made out of silver and are wearing the imprint of a brilliant cutted gemstone in their core. They are part of an ongoing unlimited series - called the „6th C“.

This „C“ symbolizes a new criteria in the diamond grading and stands for „Care“. With bying one pin and supporting this jewellery project, you care for others, because these pieces are intended to benefit those who suffer most from the diamonds. When you buy a piece of jewellery from the CARE Collection, 50% of the sales price goes to the non-profit organisation BoLAMA (Botswana Labour Migrants Association), which supports workers in diamond mining and their families, for example by giving them access to social security benefits.

Verborgen.

In the labyrinth of the intangible. Silence. Depths not comprehensible, dark and yet so bright. Safe and embraced. Warmth. Walls draw up, sheltering shadows. You feel touched. Spellbound. Narrow alleys, shelter Lean back. In - Out. Silence. Thoughts dance. Warmth. Security and well-being. Treasure rests within. Safety. With you. Yourself. Trust yourself. Step by step you discover more. The inside opens up. Growing towards you, it seeks the same. Straight and yet so soft, it rests gently in your hand. Concealed.

Feelings.

Gemstones are the force that drives me in my creative work. On the one hand, it is the exploration of the materiality and the approach to the limits and secrets of the stones. On the other hand, it is the semiotic charge, meaning and the use of gemstones – especially of diamonds – in our society.

My playing hands are the tools for my ideas and thinking. Through them I feel and touch the surface and the outlines of the material. They are the medium, which connect my inner world with the outer world. They urge the mutual process of touching and grasping, changing my ideas and my perception.

Julia Obermaier-CV

From 2009 to 2012 I made my apprenticeship to goldsmith at staatliche Berufsfachschule für Glas und Schmuck in Kaufbeuren-Neugablonz, Germany.

Due to my passion for gemstones I studied Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Applied Sciences Trier, Dept. Gemstone and Jewellery in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. During that time I studied one semester abroad at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia .
In July 2016 I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.

In 2018 I started my Master Studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich and graduated with a Master of Advanced Design in 2019.

Since September 2016 I have my own little atelier in Kempten (Bavaria), Germany. Come and pass by at my studio and have a look inside.

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My Works

Some of my latest pieces

Julia Obermaier

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Contact

Julia Obermaier

Address: Ankergässele 6
87435 Kempten (Allgäu)
Germany

Email: hello@juliaobermaier.com