• Announcement

    Amer Kobašlija. Images

    Curator: Irfan Hošić
    KRAK Center for Contemporary Culture (Hamze Hume bb, Bihać)
    2 – 23 May, 2025
    Exhibition Opening: Friday, 2 May, 2025 at 8 pm

     

    The first solo exhibition of Amer Kobašlija in Bosnia and Herzegovina, titled Images, represents an attempt to comprehensively present his work to a community he left under the pressure of war in the 1990s. Due to the complexities of his life circumstances, Images raises a series of profound questions about Bosnian and Herzegovinian artists scattered across the globe, about whom there is virtually no awareness in their homeland. It provides an opportunity to offer at least some answers about artists whose work, like Kobašlija's, spans multiple contexts: Who are these artists? What do they do? What is their connection to their country of origin? And why are they so little known here?

    Amer Kobašlija is an artist who achieved professional success outside his homeland, making the opportunity for intercultural dialogue all the more significant in understanding and appreciating his artistic work. One way to approach this intercultural dynamic is by bridging two contexts: the one where his works are created, the United States, and the one where they are reinterpreted, his first homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

    Amer Kobašlija has established himself as an artist whose work demonstrates that painting remains a premier art form. He has developed a body of work that combines strong formal values with the critical tone of contemporary artistic discourse, resonating with the spirit of our times. His works are compelling both in their form and their concept, sparking discussions about the role and relevance of painting today. They also raise broader questions about belonging, identity, social and cultural environments, architecture, and urbanism – the spaces that shape human existence. At the same time, Kobašlija’s work invites reflection on the significance of painting today, posing important local questions: Does painting still exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina? What is its role in the contemporary art scene? And can the country’s current painting practices address the complex socio-political realities it faces?

    Following the exhibition at KRAK, selected segments in various formats will be showcased at the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Sarajevo, and the Manifesto Gallery of Contemporary Art in Sarajevo. These presentations will be accompanied by additional educational programs.

    d

    Amer Kobašlija, Lincoln Tunnel, Shell Station. Oil on plexiglas, 2013