On 16 October, Julia Maria Künnap’s solo exhibition “A Matter of Perception” opens at the gallery of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design. The exhibition brings together the artist’s recent and earlier works, which explore the boundaries of perception, light and material, revealing the hidden potential of natural stone.

Jewellery artist Julia Maria Künnap sees transparent natural stones as abstract vessels in which to capture light. The quiet intensity of her works arises from a tension: the stone does not lose its essential nature but is given the possibility of becoming something new – something that has to be seen for oneself.

Through her work, she brings out something almost immaterial in this ancient material. Her works often seem to capture moments of movement: a rippling or bubbling liquid is suddenly frozen, light becomes trapped in stone, or a cloud unexpectedly acquires a mineral body.

In this exhibition, new works appear alongside jewellery from the collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design as well as from private collections.

Julia Maria Künnap (b. 1979) is an Estonian jewellery artist who graduated from the jewellery department of the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2004, where she studied under Professor Kadri Mälk. Her practice centres above all on stone as a traditional jewellery material in its own right, with potentially infinite possibilities. Her work combines exceptional mastery of lapidary and goldsmithing techniques with a free and experimental approach. Künnap is known for her skilful use of freehand engraving and faceting. She creates jewellery that prompts viewers to reconsider the nature of gemstones, an approach that has also earned her international recognition. In 2018, she became the first Estonian recipient of the prestigious Herbert Hofmann Award. Her work has been presented in numerous exhibitions in Estonia and internationally and is held in both museum and private collections. Since 2024, Künnap has been a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts, where she explores ways of combining freehand engraving and faceting. She is also in demand internationally as an educator in contemporary jewellery.

The exhibition “Julia Maria Künnap. A Matter of Perception” will stay open until 24 January 2027.