I AM NOT EMPTY, I AM OPEN 私は空ではなく、開かれている

Kobe, Eunoia Gallery space

Apr 11 - May 3,2026

Artists

Maja Malmcrona

Eunoia is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Maja Malmcrona,
“I AM NOT EMPTY, I AM OPEN 私は空ではなく、開かれている”

Dates: April 11 (Sat) – May 3 (Sun)
Opening Reception: April 11 at 5:00 PM

Featured Works

I Am Not Empty I Am Open is a solo exhibition by Swedish artist Maja Malmcrona at Eunoia in Kobe, Japan.

Malmcrona was born 1993 in Gothenburg, Sweden and is currently based in Zurich, Switzerland. Her practice relates primarily to an examination of space and our experience of it, taking the form of abstract landscapes, conceptual cartography, and imaginary structures—oscillating between these overlapping yet distinct subject matters. She uses abstraction as a tool to stay clear of an over-emphasis on objects, being more interested in the multitude of meanings that lies behind them. She holds academic degrees in architecture and philosophy, both of which deeply inform her artistic practice.

The exhibition at Eunoia brings together drawings, paintings, and sculptures from the last four years of her practice, as well as a newly published book. The title of both the exhibition and the book is derived from a line in Vermeer, a poem by Swedish writer Tomas Tranströmer. It draws on the idea that emptiness is not a lack of something, but rather an opportunity for curiosity and perception wherein we may free ourselves from distractions and externally imposed meanings.

Working across disciplines, Malmcrona creates structures—both physical and conceptual—that weave together cultural, literary, and artistic references into works that question contemporary life and our place within it. Her work bridges Swedish, Swiss, and Japanese sensibilities, highlighting the similarities between the three.

In I Am Not Empty I Am Open, a recurring motif is the typological dwelling—appearing across drawings and sculptures and deriving meaning from the idea of displacement (Pocket Houses, 2026). The three-dimensionality returns in a plaster sculpture that invites a mental inhabitation, existing somewhere between abstraction and familiarity (Stairs, 2023). Two-dimensional works explore mark-making as a way of mapping of our emotional experiences (Drawings We Have Lived, 2025), others investigate geometry both as a spatial blueprint (Sign, 2022) and a way to communicate qualitative data (Here and There, 2023). In more recent works, torn and layered paper is transformed into a kind of topography, where memory and narrative are built up through accumulation (He Said I Treated Thoughts as if I Generated Them Myself, 2025).

Collectively, the works in the show explore how meaning is derived from an open-minded perception of the spaces we inhabit and our understanding of ourselves within them. They position reduction (in both form and colour) not as a lack of meaning, but as a space for openness, reflection, and a continual exploration of ourselves and of the world around us.