Doorway, Manchester Armory

Watercolor on paper, 16 x 20 inches

Artist: Goran Hodzic (2025) Price: $400

In “Doorway, Manchester Armory,” Goran Hodzic leads us deeper into the stillness of an abandoned coastal fortification at Manchester State Park. The painting depicts a series of concrete chambers, their heavy, moss-tinged walls framing a receding view that pulls the eye toward a window of pale light at the far end. Time hangs in the air here—evident in the crumbling floor debris, damp shadows, and ghostly textures clinging to the walls.

With exquisite attention to surface and depth, Hodzic renders the space with both realism and reverence. What was once a place of defense has become a vessel of quiet introspection. As in much of his work, the interplay of nature and structure becomes symbolic—a meditation on what remains when purpose fades, and on how silence itself can hold memory.

Bosnian-born and Port Orchard–based, Goran Hodzic infuses his naturalistic watercolor technique with a profound emotional register shaped by his journey as an immigrant and observer. Now 44, his paintings are acts of seeing: not just of landscapes and ruins, but of the deeper narratives they carry. His work often lingers in liminal places like this—between abandonment and renewal, between the past and whatever follows it.

“Doorway, Manchester Armory” offers a quiet, reverent look at a space left behind—inviting us to pause, reflect, and witness what history leaves in its wake.