Today we’d like to introduce you to Aleksandra Kokotovic.
Aleksandra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In my early childhood, my mother introduced me to the magical world of art and creation. She drew with me every day and regularly took me to exhibitions and museums, both locally and abroad. Through art, I discovered a special, extraordinary world of imagination, which told the most wonderful and interesting stories.
When I was in elementary school, my art teacher, Majda, quickly discovered my artistic talents and enrolled me in an advanced art group. The classes were serious, and our teacher encouraged us to be free with our art and showcase our personal expression.
At the beginning of the 5th grade, I won my first international award in a child’s art competition and continued to receive numerous awards over the course of my life into adulthood. I credit my wonderful childhood teacher for recognizing my talent, as with her support, I participated in many group exhibitions throughout my childhood and as a teenager all over the world.
As a sign of gratitude for all the attention and encouragement, I dedicated one of my solo exhibitions, which was at the National History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, the city I was born in, to Majda. During the opening night, I gathered the teachers and students who had not been together in over 20 years. It was a fantastic experience and was emotionally fulfilling.
Other two solo shows, which had the opening on the same day in two different countries, I dedicated to my first mentor, my beloved mother, whose 65th birthday was that day as well. When I completely returned to art, dedicating my life to the craft, I was greeted with a wide-open door, like a force of destiny, which brought a lot of harmony, peace, and joy to my life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My artistic expression is multi-dimensional and involves various mediums, predominately through paintings, but also in sculptures, graphics, drawings, installations, and performances. I have had 35 solo exhibitions in renowned institutions, museums, and galleries across the globe (from Florida, Washington DC, Hawaii to Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, and beyond).
I was also invited to have solo exhibitions at well-known art festivals including European Days of Culture Heritage in the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade, which is one of my happiest moments (the exhibition was set for 4 months in one of the country’s most important cultural institutions), Summer at the Museum of History of Bosnia and Herzegovina, International Art Festival Mostar Summer, and many more.
Additionally, I participated in over 60 group jury exhibitions globally including Lithuania, Poland, Maldives, United States, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, and United Emirates. Presently, I am preparing a solo art show in one of the best galleries in Belgrade, set to take place in 10 days, and another solo show in Novi Sad, which is the European Capital of Culture for 2022. I will also have a solo show in Jacksonville, Florida, and in parallel, will participate in a big international art exhibition in Egypt, as well as in Bosnia and Serbia.
What I am proud of? Well, I am not that person. Some accomplishments just make me feel valued and bring me joy, and I truly love to share my art events with friends and art-lovers, but I don’t ever feel proud. I simply feel immense happiness to share my art with the world; especially when my art moves the observer and evokes emotion.
Prior to the pandemic, I had a solo show at the Alhambra Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida and soon after, I went to Dubai where I participated in an international exhibition together with 100 female artists from 100 different countries. The exhibition “Each for Equal” was held during the month of March in 2020 at the Arabian Court gallery in the One & Only Royal Mirage.
That was an incredible, beautiful, and enchanting experience; we shared our own stories, discussed problems girls face around the globe, had conferences in the magnificent Dubai Opera where we met with all-female ambassadors who are in leading positions in the UAE, as well as other influential women in the country. It’s always spectacular to see other artists’ visions and communicate with them and their work, which is why I love group art shows.
I enjoy a beautiful human encounter, which for me is the most solemn act of human existence. I worked extensively during the pandemic and still do. Art is saving me. It’s been a long journey back to me. I am finding my way home.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
The sculptures I create are from natural materials and sometimes from discarded materials, where I try to give new life to pieces that would be forgotten in the dump or would, through human negligence, end up in rivers and lakes, endangering underwater life.
From natural materials I use marble, stone, wood, metal, sculptures are often my height 5’10, or a little less, although I have moments when I create sculptures of smaller dimensions. My paintings are mostly large-scale, but occasionally I create paintings on a smaller scale. I work exclusively with oil on linen or on canvas, but I often glue different materials and use unexpected fabrics, which I cover with lots of oil.
What am I famous for, you ask? In artistic circles, people talk about me as a very diligent and hard-working painter, who is constantly creating, innovating, and producing. All the series I am working on have a solid and deeply thought-out narrative, which deals mostly with metaphysics, nature, alternative history, unconscious, subconscious, social, spiritual, and global issues.
Lines are a very important, recognizable feature in all my art; it gives me a feeling of peace and symmetry, as I work freely and extensively on layers upon layers of paint, which then come together in harmony.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.alexakoko.com www.alexakoko.art
- Instagram: @aleksakoko
- Other: https://fbl.ba/aleksandra-kokotovic-painting-the-essential/
Image Credits
Bojan Dzodan
