Human interaction is the central theme of Markus Emilsson’s practice. Specialising in glass and craft techniques, Emilsson works mainly in sculpture and installation, including immersive works – artistic experiences that you walk through and are surrounded by – as well as producing small-scale objects. Whatever the final outcome, everything is brought into being through his experimental approach.

Emilsson views craft as an alternative language, one that speaks through matter, aesthetics, history and tradition. It is a language that can affirm but also unsettle, one that allows us to reconsider who we are, how we relate to one another and how we position ourselves in the world. Emilsson is drawn to an object’s function as memorabilia, its ability to hold traces of time, memory and intention, and through that open space, for new ways of thinking, sensing and acting.

At the core of his practice is the encounter between object and spectator, whilst exploring how glass, craft and spatiality can offer self-reflection, while also encouraging connections with others. Glass and craft are not only technical or aesthetic pursuits, but for Emilsson, viewed as social acts; a shared situation shaped by breath, movement and attention. It is a place where material investigation and human relation intersect.

Emilsson exhibits his work both in dedicated galleries and art centres but also in less conventional spaces. Projects have included: exhibitions in private homes, hybrid works mixing physical & digital elements in urban spaces and ephemeral sculptural trails in natural landscapes. Possibly his most audacious project to date, he created an environment where onlookers wore roller skates to experience the works on show.

Narrative is central to his work and Emilsson considers the visitor as a living material to listen to, shape and discover. Keen to engage with the public, he regularly works as a curator, consultant and teacher, developing workshop formats, educational projects and collaborative structures in the cultural arena.

In the artist’s own words:

“The choreography of molten glass demands full presence, both physically and mentally. It is an exercise in responsiveness and collaboration that resonates with my temperament as a person as well as with the artistic situations I seek to create."


Emilsson trained at the Kosta Glass School and at the National School of Glass in Orrefors. He holds a Master of Applied Arts degree from Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. He alternates between his personal artistic practice and curatorial roles, often for art institutions, focussing his interest on the dynamic relationship between art and its audience. Most notably: guest curator at the Växjö Konsthal, a direct result of his exhibitions & artistic development at The Glass Factory museum in Boda, and more recently, for the Swedish Institute in Paris in 2025.

Emilsson's public appearances take place both inside and outside the traditional art scene and have resulted in numerous solo & group exhibitions in Sweden, with many works commissioned for collaborative art projects or acquired for public collections. Aiding his creative development he has received several grants, including a two-year working grant in 2024 from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.

Artist portrait by Alexander Hall.