Pilgrimage (Triptych), 2020, oil and graphite on canvas, 48 ¼ x 31 ⅝ x 2 ½ inches each
Drawing inspiration from old manuscripts, contemporary imagery, and my own personal history, I translate these influences through painting to elevate their significance. Analyzing my traditional upbringing as a first-generation Bosniak-American in Western society, I generate a platform for dialogue and contemplation around the experience of living between two cultures. I orient veiled forms in different environments to displace them from their origin, while alluding to the spiritual and psychological. The spaces in my paintings are the product of a distorted history, and the figures describe how one would function in a fragmented environment.
website: arnelamahmutovic.com
instagram: @arnela_mahmutovic
Pilgrimage (Triptych), 2020, oil and graphite on canvas, 48 ¼ x 31 ⅝ x 2 ½ inches each
Marmara, 2020, oil and graphite on canvas, 46 x 34 x 2 ½ inches
Mare Nostrum, 2020, oil and graphite on canvas, 46 x 34 x 2 ½ inches
Bosančica I, 2019, charcoal, graphite, and Sharpie marker on Stonehenge paper, 70 x 50 inches
Bosančica II, 2019, charcoal, graphite, and Sharpie marker on Stonehenge paper, 70 x 50 inches
Surrender to the Story of your Hands, 2019, oil and graphite on canvas, 65 x 45 x 2 ½ inches
Adonis, 2019, oil, graphite, wax crayon, and gold leaf on canvas, 46 x 34 x 2 ½ inches
Golden Lily, 2019, oil, graphite, wax crayon, and gold leaf on canvas, 46 x 34 x 2 ½ inches