Tomislav Nikolic

Tomislav Nikolic paints for the Instagram-era of visual art. Pointing to photography’s flattening effects, his works remind us that painting is a three-dimensional object. “By applying dozens or even hundreds of coats of paint,” he explains, “it builds up a density and a body of colour. When you’re looking at what looks to be one solid colour, you’re actually not looking at the surface, you’re looking through hundreds of layers of paint.” Only by looking at a work in the flesh can you get the experience of “how that color and that pigment and that medium behaves,” he says. Nikolic also seeks to make the viewer more aware of the act of looking by framing his paintings in translucent, reflective glass. He has also developed a technique of blending marble dust with his paints, giving the paint the quality of being both opaque and translucent. They are works that show how colour and light cannot be pulled apart.

Nikolic was born in 1970 in Melbourne, Australia, which is where he also lives and works. Currently represented by Melbourne’s Station Gallery, Nikolic was exhibited internationally. His most recent solo shows include “vestiges of now”  in Spain, “how long must with live right before we don’t even have to try” in Auckland, and “HERE” in Sydney (all 2017). His work is held in permanent collections including the National Gallery of Victoria.

Courtesy of Art Collector