Gallery 1 — NINA YANKOVIC

SELECT WORKS → 3D

3D HIGHLIGHTS

FRAMED IN LIGHT, WOOD, MULBERRY PAPER, WALNUT INK, INTERNAL LIGHTING FIXTURES, 4’x3’x1’

As a child, I was drawn to arranging small assemblages in my room, especially within my wooden cabinet, where each compartment became its own world. I carefully aligned figurines, organized fossil collections, and placed letters from loved ones with care. I still collect, but now I gather the invisible: ephemeral moments, memories, and the beauty embedded in routine. The compartments in this piece become a place to hold the shadows and light from my childhood bedroom. Each paper screen is made from layered, hand-dyed and collaged mulberry paper painted with walnut ink. Within the framed sections, projections of leaf shadows flow across the wall, light filters through windows at night, and the mobile that hung in the corner of my room remains suspended. I'm interested in shifting functional objects into something contemplative, and in exaggerating the mundane just enough that we might notice it again. Through warm, internal light and familiar forms, I hope to evoke a feeling not unlike love.
This piece was shown at the Williams College Museum of Art and at FLOHAUS gallery in New York City.

LIGHT/LIFE, 2023 WOOD, LAYERED PAPER, INTERNAL LIGHTING FIXTURES, 6’x1’x1’

Light/Life is a sculptural lamp that depicts several intricate patterns and textures such as fingerprints, butterfly wings and leaf veins. Each paper screen is created out of delicate layered paper cut outs that are embedded in the wooden structure. The lamp alludes to examining oneself alongside the natural world as if under a microscope.

SWALLOW CHARMS, STERLING SILVER OR STAINLESS STEEL CASTS, 2024, 2”x2”x0.5”

Designed to be strung through shoelaces and worn as decorative art. These swallows are slightly abstracted to emphasize the twist of the bird in flight.

BRONZE CREATURE, BRONZE, 2025, 12”x5”x4”

When working with more permanent materials or mediums with longevity I always consider the lifespan of what I create. I began working on Bronze Creature after the L.A. fires, when the fragility of landscapes and material objects was occupying my thoughts. I chose to create a companion of sorts – an indestructible figure that resembles a stuffed animal (and a well-loved one at that).