Maja Ruznic

Spanning over 150 artworks, this publication examines a singular aspect of Maja Ruznic’s (born 1983) enigmatic practice: her gouaches. With a shapeshifting cast of mystical figures, these works on Khadi paper by the New Mexico–based painter are in dialogue with artists such as Paul Klee and Hilma af Klint.

Across Consulting with Shadows, New Mexico–based painter Maja Ruznic (born 1983) invokes the profundity of shadows with her palette, evidencing the beauty and clarity that can emerge from literal—and psychological—darkness. “Noticing color at night is like receiving an unexpected gift,” she explains. Formed in the crucible of sleepless nights after the birth of her daughter, while struggling with postpartum depression, Ruznic’s recent work depicts permutations of a family unit: Father; Daughter; Mother & Child; Mother & Father; Father Daughter Mother. Blurred forms bleed into one another on deep jewel tones. So too, personal and ancient history blends with Ruznic’s treatment. The real night intermingles with the psychological night of anguish and melts into the mythic underworld. Personal experiences of motherhood are saturated by her own exploration of the Sumerian goddess Inanna, who journeys to a world of shadows.

In her exhibition at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, Bosnian-born artist Maja Ruznic (born 1983) presents out-of-focus, ghostly figures that express the nostalgia and trauma of her war-torn upbringing. Her ritualistic paintings are gathered here.