Find Something You Love and Let It Kill You

Paper Gallery and the Prishtina Biennale, as part of the project “In Our Hands”, opened the exhibition “Find Something You Love, and Let It Kill You.”

Literature and painting have always inspired each other. Many writings have been inspired by various paintings, and likewise, countless paintings have been created based on the events and stories in books by literary masters. The renowned author Charles Bukowski was the one who inspired the artist to explore illustrating or painting the life and work of this autobiographical writer.

"Last year, while traveling on the metro in my city, I was reading the newspaper 'Zeit' and came across a wonderful article—it was an exchange of letters between Charles Bukowski and Henry Miller. I was so absorbed in reading the letter that I missed my stop. I felt as if I were in a room in New York, reading a letter that Charles himself had sent me," the artist interprets.

Toro skillfully mixes stylistic elements of Pop Art and Cubism, working with a deep purple base color and rich texture. Elements such as composition, masterful perspective, abstraction, and dynamic forms distinguish Mentor Ejupi – Toro’s work over the years.

The exhibition consists of 10 paintings, thoughtfully adapted to the gallery space.