Trained both as an architect (graduated from Architecture University of Lisbon, 2000) and as an artist (finished MA Fine Arts, Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam, 2006) the works I produce are investigations on the possibility of enhancing hidden dimensions of space.

This means to acknowledge the relation between the potential embedded in physical space to arouse different/multiple/infinite perceptions of the same space, and our inbuilt mechanisms of perception and assessment of reality; the intricate interaction between both is, in my view, responsible for the emergence of those recondite territories. In other words, I work with the principles of intuition and discourses, which act upon the body in actual space.

Within this framework I have developed the notion of constructive paintings to investigate the potential of painterly representations to challenge architecture, by mobilizing its strength to construct and deconstruct space, both physical space and represented space. Painting has the power to alter/subvert the properties of the built environment: a wall, which is known to be a solid element can be liquefied by means of painting. I work with both painting and constructive materials as media that allow from embodied, to fluid, to barely visible existences; from explicit presence to invisibility.

At the same time I approach painting as a constructive process similar to building architecture, from a two-dimensional design to an object. I explore this issue by defining a process of building images by layering. The layering process starts by defining representations of space (computer 3D images, topographic maps, etc.), developing further until it becomes tactile (painterly surfaces), achieving the character of substance (objecthood).

Painting, more then a form of mimicking reality, renders visible potential realities. It does so in a logic of its own but not disconnected from reality. I see painting as a form of legitimizing the existence of spaces beyond the physical spatiality we might inhabit. The surface of the picture plane works as an independent ontological territory that attests for the credibility of the places I ‘build’.

BIOGRAPHY: KRISTINA MATOVIC

Perpetually seduced by the 4 dimensional and captivated by light; immersive environments have evolved. Concerned with the conception and representation of the future - projects investigate the social and psychological ramifications of the evolution of technology and aspire to assist in the positive reconstruction there of. Environments exist and are experienced in the threshold between the external and internal, real and virtual.

Having studied as a graphic designer at Monash University Melbourne, Kristina Matovic devoted her 4^th year to the research and development of META_ME, or later know as ISTGAMN (inflatable seat that glows and makes noise). This project was concerned with the negotiation of duel realities and manifest as a seating ‘device’ that utilized methods of physical isolation. META_ME was shown at Technikunst: Flesh vs Machine and further exhibitions and collaborations developed including: Two Point Two, Nextwave – Containers Project and the opening of Liquid Architecture 7.

Color Change

first step: to be continued ......

In Between

This is my official start into the transitlounge season. I quit Tzannes Associates last Friday to start concentrating on ideas and organizing the move. Interestingly I had to give a short talk at my firm before I left focussing on what inspires me- I chose the topic of the in-between and showed images of works by Rachel Whiteread(negation of space-see image above), Rebecca Horn(installation between art and space), Zaha Hadid(translating painting into architecture), Peter Zumthor(combining sensuality and spaces), Daniel Libeskind(in between the lines), Sydney(in between sea and land) and Berlin(the perfect space, environment and frame for everyone in-between). These inspirations are vital for my works and I gain my energy from being in between two places and disciplines and a constant change. Exploring this situation further will hopefully lead me to a more specific theme for next year.....