Goodbye Country, Hello USA

Again I fail to grasp a moment where I could wish you a Happy New Year, but that moment could come pretty soon. So let’s introduce my latest work first.

Girls Keep Drinking

This one I started working in December 2021. I thought it would be a piece of cake, easy going, a very light and a cheerful composition, and no brainer. Yeah, right. This is my first painting done wearing glasses. Last year after Covid I noticed that my eyesight in distant is not as it used to be, edges of objects in distance wouldn’t appear as sharp as I used to see them from my living room portal. Firstly, I thought that it was something related to my high fever so I gave it 6 months to go away. Meanwhile I did 3 works that I had really hard time working on.  Especially in the evening, I couldn’t focus or I would get headache when I worked on small details. I never ever considered that my eyesight was bad.  I gave up and took a break. I thought it was post-Covid mental and physical tiredness so I took a little bit longer break, the whole summer till September. In September I started two new paintings, had same issues with my eyesight again, and I went to family doctor who then sent me to ophthalmologist. Turns out I lost a little bit of eyesight for distance. Let’s say it is no longer in 4k resolution, it is HD. But to my surprise and disappointment I had bigger loss of near focusing ability – presbyopia. Funny enough, I haven’t had hard time reading books last summer – I read 6 in 17 days. So now I have to wear glasses when I work and I needed to get accustomed to wearing them and not forgetting them. And this painting is small in size on individual panel and high on details. Took me forever. I just finished it a few days ago.

The Gift Shop

I also took this time to fill up my Gift Shop and now almost all my works are available as digital prints. In the process of filling up, I noticed that some products really stand out for me and others for other people. My favorites are framed digital prints, backpacks, skateboards and masterpieces on their own, slip-on shoes.

So the shop has been set up, opened and ready for business.

Goodbye Country, Hello USA

My wife got a Fulbright Fellowship this year and we are going to the States as a family, for a year. I am now shutting down my atelier, and I am preparing it for the rent as a studio. I sold blank canvases and unused paint (over 50kg) and I am tying loose ends. I am now preparing all the unsold paintings for the trip, since I am planning to bring them all.  We will be in Ithaca, NY, the second most beautiful place I have ever been to. I think it will be inspiring experience for my kids, my wife and me. I am looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones. Also, to visiting museums and galleries, reading and researching, hopefully painting and doing a few exhibitions. Anyway it is something that I’ve been looking forward to, a long needed change.

The Last Exhibition in Sarajevo

At the moment I am exhibiting my work Issa no 8 Pīsu Pazuru at the Exhibition of the Art Teachers’ Department, Program ALU50, the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, Sarajevo. I was invited to share my work as part of alumni, alongside some new students of the Art Teachers’ Department. It was nice to see new ideas and experiments in the works of new generation. As a highlight of the Opening I was glad I could meet my professor and mentor on my Graduate and Master Degree, Ibrahim Krzović, an art historian and an art critic who is now 87 years old, still active and writing.

I had in plan 2 solo exhibitions, one in Gradačac and another one in Sarajevo. In Gradačac I wanted to exhibit in a renovated old cinema theatre, where I used to go to movies every summer in my childhood. And in Sarajevo I wanted to exhibit in a newly open Gallery ArkA. ArkA is an art collective founded by my friend Amer Hadžić, a printmaker, with arts and educational goals. A newly open space offers printmaking studio, a cooperative art space and art education, and it is a project worth supporting and following.

With our upcoming trip to the States I had to cancel those two exhibitions so I could prepare my works for shipping.

Recommendations

I had a chance to read both parts of Murakami’s Killing Commendatore (Kishidancho Goroshi) and I loved it. Maybe a little bit of identification with the main character (a painter) had something to do with it. I am undergoing a “questioning” phase for the last 12 months or so. But I love all the characters, story pace, and it was really engaging and easy to read although it is 700 pages long. Another wonderful discovery is Italian comic artist Zerocalcare, whose novels are being now published in my country. Quirky, but deeply emotional graphic novels will make you laugh but also make you cry with their emotional impact. I highly recommend looking after his comic book novels in bookshops in your country. And if you are into music there is a little bit of blast from the past, Tears for Fears have published a new album The Tipping Point in Dolby Atmos and DTS HDMA mix, perfect for testing your setup.

So I guess New Year will come soon for me, and I will share new experience as soon as I have enough to write about. Next two months are dedicated to preparations, hopefully, everything will be OK.

So how you been?

All the best to you and yours,
peace, love, udon & sake
muha