Kobaslija was born in 1975 in Bosnia. He received a BFA from the Ringling School of Art & Design in Florida and an MFA from Montclair State University in New Jersey. He was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in 2005.
Amer Kobaslija’s (In) Significant Objects is a metaphorical look into the realm of the artist’s inner sanctum: the cluttered live/work space. Evoking the concepts of religion and ritual, Kobaslija takes great care in detailing a chaotic jumble of “artifacts” that simultaneously exist, yet are not allowed any more significance than another object within the same space. Paint supplies, photo equipment, towels, clothes, empty water bottles, cell phone, microwave, pocket change, all serve as portals into the mind of the artist. By allowing a multi-linear perspective within the composition; a bird’s eyed from above, halfway up a corner wall, or from one room end to the other, the gaze is denied any dominant focal point in which to consume the space. The viewer is no longer just an observer, but a particpant in the ritual of sorting through possibilities in an attempt to move toward an artistic resolution that is the summation of relevant personal data reflecting both the inner and outer world of the artist.
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