Maja Maljević was recently in residence at NIROX Foundation from 2 September to 17 September with German artist Tatjana Doll. Towards the end of her stay, she also met another renound German artist Jürgen Partenheimer, who is currently in residence at NIROX. For Maljević, the opportunity to spend time with two dynamic and sophisticated painters made a huge impression. She was able to immerse herself in the solitude and idyllic surroundings of the Cradle of Humankind, frequented only by mischievous monkeys that ventured into her personal studio while she worked.
During her two week sojourn at the Foundation Maja worked intensively on 24 small-scale paintings the size of which is comparable to an A4 page. The series of paintings is titled Nirox Diaries. The paintings are special and rather quirky in the way that each one is marked with the exact time and date it was completed. Many of the oil paintings were worked on simultaneously to allow the thicker paint to dry in between layers.
The small scale of the paintings becomes reminiscent of a journal which is reflected in Maljević’s way of working. Her use of cryptic titles and coded alphabet that explode across sections of her work further alludes to the idea of a secret journal. Her paintings are reflections of the abstract ideas and feelings that flood her subconscious using colour and form to write her thoughts across the surface. The 24 paintings seem to allude to the hours in a day; a reminder of passing time that is weighed upon in a diary that plans a day or documents personal thoughts over a period of one’s life.
The “Nirox Diaries” were featured at the David Krut Projects booth at this year’s FNB Joburg Art Fair. For more information on the selected paintings available on our website please contact the gallery on 011 447 0627 or email [email protected] / [email protected]