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Read blog posts about the life and pictorial oeuvre of Bosnian painter Mihridžan Kulenović Mimica.
Detail of walnut from drawing with ink; cycle ‘Roots’; 30 x 25 cm; 1996.
The Enigma of the Walnut
Throughout the years, Mimica has employed several recurring themes that have come to define his art and his pictorial cycles. Nonetheless, no visual element has been as constant in his artwork as the enigmatic presence of the floating walnut.
The walnut has appeared in nearly all of Mimica’s pictorial cycles and has been depicted using different techniques.
While the meaning of the walnut remains mysterious, as the artist demanded, it can be argued that this visual element was used in different ways and served different purposes, often mirroring and complementing the overall tone of a given painting or drawing.
For instance, in the war drawings, especially those characterized by a pronounced dynamism, the walnut often explodes, blasts into pieces, disaggregates… thus echoing the anguish and desperation of the series.
When it comes to more amene paintings, the walnut fluctuates gracefully around the main subjects of the painting. In other cases, the walnut becomes the centre of attention towards which the subject gravitates.
Detail of disintegrating walnut with horse from drawing with ink, 1995.
Detail of floating walnut with horse from oil on canvas, 1996.
Although the true meaning of the walnut remains unknown, which leaves ample room for conjecture, this element has become somewhat of a second signature for the artist.
To honor the indelible association between the artist and the enigmatic visual feature, the walnut has been chosen as the logo for this website.
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