Amer Kobaslija: Large Scale Studio Paintings

This summer George Adams Gallery will present new large-scale paintings by Amer Kobaslija.  Following his debut exhibition at the gallery earlier this year featuring small-scale paintings of his studio, this exhibition will introduce six new oils of the artist's studio that range in size from single panel paintings 5x4 feet to a nearly life-size triptych 7x12 feet.

Kobaslija favors vertiginous perspectives and this sensation is greatly enhanced by his shift to the larger scale. Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye), 2006, for example, presents a cluttered studio -- paint encrusted palette, paint splattered floor, photographs and paintings covering the walls, a tripod-mounted camera in the center of the room -- seen from above.  The skewed bird's eye-view not only reveals the artists working method, but also draws attention to and intensifies the complex ecosystem of the artist's cramped quarters. In contrast, Door View, 2005, also a triptych and one of the largest paintings in the exhibition at just over 7 x 9 feet, starkly depicts the studio as if abandoned with bare whitewalls and the door left ajar.

Amer Kobaslija was born in Bosnia in 1975.  He received his BFA from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Florida and his MFA from Montclair University in New Jersey. In 2005, Kobaslija was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant.

Exhibition Checklist

1. Door View, 2006
Oil on panel
86 x 114 inches (triptych)
AKop 29

2. South of the Border, West of the Sun II, 2006
Oil on panel
85 x 74 inches (diptych)
AKop 31

3. Painter's Floor with Chair and Ladder, 2005
Oil on panel
71 3/4 x 96 inches (diptych)
AKop 23

4. Painter's Floor with Open Door, 2006
Oil on panel
85 x 68 inches (diptych)
AKop 30

5. Artist in His Studio, 2006
Oil on panel
86 x 122 inches (triptych)
AKop 28

6. The Art of Painting, 2006
Oil on panel
48 x 65 inches
AKop 32

7. Con te Partiro, 2006
Oil on panel
74 1/4 x 85 7/8 inches (diptych)
AKop 25

8. Sputnik Sweetheart of New Orleans and
the End of the World, 2006
Oil on panel
48 x 70 inches
AKop 33