Beginning February 23 and continuing through April 14th, the George Adams Gallery is presenting an exhibition of new paintings by Amer Kobaslija. The exhibition, “One Hundred Views of Kesennuma”(the title refers to the well-known series by Hokusai), was made in response to the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed much of the east coast of Japan almost exactly one year ago. The exhibition includes 27 small and large-scale paintings Kobaslija made after taking several trips to the area with his Japanese father-in-law last spring, summer, and fall.

Kobaslija’s effort to record the devastation stemmed not only from his relationship to the country and its people through his wife and her family, but also from his own experience of carnage and displacement as a young man in war-torn Bosnia. Working from both memory and photographs that Kobaslija took in and around Kesennuma, the paintings are less journalistic recordings of destruction than an attempt to express through paint the horror he witnessed while touring the Miyagi Prefecture. And, while some views are specific, for example “Kesen River from the Imaizumi Highway, June 11,” 2011, others such as “Imaginary View of Kesennuma Port,” 2011, and “Black Smoke,” 2012 are based on a combination of memory and imagination.

This is Kobaslija’s 5th solo exhibition with the gallery since his debut in 2006. He is currently an assistant professor of art at Gettysburg College, and has been a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Grant and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 6 and on Mondays by appointment. Additional information regarding the exhibition and Amer Kobaslija is available on the gallery’s website: www.georgeadamsgallery.com.