Welded metal with transparent powder coating, H 23.62 x W 17.71 x 7.87 in, 8.2 kg. I made this piece as a part of my cycle entitled 'Cityscapes-BLOCK' first presented on a solo show at the Blok Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia. The location of the Gallery within modern city blocks of New Belgrade inspired its architectural theme. Wheels, Suitcases … and a Few Books This latest Djordje Aralica’s solo-exhibition, Wheels and Suitcases, highlights some of his best-received works. Aralica is a sculptor whose work elevates everyday objects through their unexpected and lighthearted monumentalization. A native of the Balkans working and exhibiting in Europe, the Middle East, and United States, Aralica’s personal mobility is intimately intertwined with his carry-on sculptures, most of them conceived while he was virtually on the move. Back to Serbia after more than ten years, Aralica brings back ‘by handle’ the world cites together with his perception of their urbanity: the Flatiron Building of New York, the Triumphal Arch of Paris, and Le Corbusier’s Radiant City. His carry-ons, being travel records of the cityscapes translated into sculptural blocks mounted on wheels, are emblems of today’s global mobility. Aralica’s travelogue is both deeply architectonic and never quiet. His metal suitcase in a shape of a violin suddenly invokes sentimental music of the world restaurants. His metal books with simple rope handles are ready to be taken wherever and whenever you go, or are wide open when not on the move, ready to be inscribed by personal stories and read aloud. Aralica’s Wheels and Suitcases are subtle and witty reminders of complexities and contradictions of displacement and mobility in the age of globalization. Jelena Bogdanović, PhD, Art and Architectural Historian, Iowa State University
