(faces)'These portraits show in-between states of consciousness...thoughts and emotions are only present in traces. Rather than character or likeness, they convey mood and poise. These faces signify different things to different people...like a mirror, they reflect the viewer's own psychology.'

(places)'...Her (Maya Kulenovic) landscapes are strange yet comforting.. as essential as personal history; equally threatening and protecting. These places are within and around, ancient, self-concerned, eternal and disinterested; little joys and miniature tragedies in every square inch.There is a sense of distance, nostalgia for a return to what was abandoned before, even if only seen in a brief instance of passing through, in the process of constant transition from memory into memory...'

'MKulenovic's paintings portray dark, mysterious imagery. Her paintings explore social and philosophical questions of violence, illness, war and genocide ; yet these images are ambiguous enough to affect the viewer on a deeply personal level...These luscious, painterly, painfully direct and larger than life paintings offer an intense visual and emotional experience...'


"A host of terms spring to mind to describe the art of Maya Kulenovic: foreboding, hesitant, enigmatic, striking, offensive and illuminating. Her work is not intended to be comfortable, nor is there any effort spent on the easy or obvious; the artist's mission speaks without pretense and states plainly;  presenting us questions as yet unresolved." MORE FROM THIS WRITING

When viewing a retrospect or series of Maya Kulenovics’s work, it is not uncommon to be struck by the impact of the pieces as canvases, and the force of the pieces as a collective. Overarching themes that deal with war, waste, consumption, and their consequences are imminent; her pieces speak to us about tension and resistance. Wars are not only fought on the battlefield but exist all around us, in the most mundane of situations. What Kulenovic does is take the everyday actions that we have accepted as mundane, and exposes the conflict that resides within. Kulenovic’s paintings tell stories, and direct the viewers’ gaze to the micro level of their individual subjects, while simultaneously reaching beyond the individual and expressing the macro state of a society in which these individual experiences have occurred. The subjects, along with the artifacts to which they are juxtaposed, rest in secluded spaces of neutral backgrounds; the cohesion of the piece comes from the written text, that being the name of the piece'. MORE FROM THIS WRITING (ENGLISH AND FRENCH)

More essays and writings

-MK: The themes which repeat in my painting are life, death and compassion. Quotes by Maya Kulenovic



short biography

Maya Kulenovic is a Canadian painter, living and working in Toronto.

She was born in 1975 in Sarajevo, (SR Bosnia and Herzegovina), SFR Yugoslavia. Maya Kulenovic has exhibited in over twenty solo exhibitions and over fourty group shows and art fairs Canada wide, in the US, The Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and Turkey. Her paintings can be seen in numerous collections around the world.

She studied art at London University of the Arts (at Chelsea College of Art and Design) in London, England (Masters of Arts 1998), Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto (AOCAD Honours, 1997) and Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul (1992-1995). She is also an alumna of London Goodenough College in London, England (1997- 98). Maya Kulenovic taught undergraduate courses in drawing, painting and art history (1999-2002), which she left to focus on her studio work.

A book on her work with introduction by Edward Lucie-Smith was published by d'jonge Hond 2008 in the Netherlands.

Maya Kulenovic est une peintre canadienne demeurant à Toronto.

Elle est née en 1975 à Sarajevo, SR Bosnie-Herzégovine, SFR Yougoslavie. Maya Kulenovic à exposée dans dix-neuf expositions solos et dans presque quarante expositions de groupe à travers le Canada, les États-Unis, en Hollande, au Japon, en Corée du Sud, en Angleterre, en l'Irlande et à Istanbul en Turquie. On retrouve ses œuvres dans plusieurs collections mondialement.

Elle a étudiée au Chelsea College of Art and Design à Londres, Angleterre (MFA, 1998), Ontario College of Art and Design à Toronto (AOCAD avec distinction, 1997) et au Mimar Sinan University en Istanbul (1995). Elle est aussi une boursière du London Goodenough College à Londres, Angleterre (1997/98). Maya Kulenovic a enseigné des cours de dessin, de peinture et d’historie de l’art (1999-2002) au niveau de la maîtrise mais elle a laisé l’enseignement pour se concentrer sur sa pratique artistique.

exhibitions

representation

128 pages Hardcover; in English and Dutch
Writing : Edward Lucie- Smith

2008

To order please visit Galerie Utrecht website under BOEKEN/ DVD section or here

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all images: copyright Maya Kulenovic 2003-11