Amer Kobaslija: Paint Your Village

Paint Your Village, Amer Kobaslija’s third exhibition with the Arthur Roger Gallery, features the most recent fruits of the artist’s fascination with the strange beauty of Florida. These compositions culminate in scenes of billboards rising over southern flatlands and gas station parking lots after summer rain, birds and their prey locked in combat. Images of goods and services are humorously juxtaposed, illustrating facets of metaphor inherent to our consumerism. In Kobaslija’s own words, “The aim is to allude and tease out specific themes beneath such images' surface. These paintings tell stories in a way somewhat akin to what Hannah Arendt once stated: ‘Storytelling is about revealing meaning without committing the error of defining it.’ It's not about imposing a specific message but rather what the viewer brings to the scene, filling in the gaps. The implied meaning remains elusive — allowing the viewer to project their fears, desires, and biases onto the vistas. Paintings are portals. They are also mirrors, revealing as much about the seer as the seen.”