Damir Matijević (Zagreb) shapes a visual language in which the night becomes a paradigm of both inner and outer worlds. His photographs are not records of time but metaphysical inscriptions, scenes where the city loses its role as mere backdrop and transforms into a symbol of the body, memory, and desire.
Drawn to what remains hidden from daylight perception, Matijević turns to darkness as a space of liberation and introspective clarity. His camera, equally digital (Nikon 7500) and analog (Rollei 120 mm in the Nocturno series) does not chase chance but constructs atmosphere, capturing moments as a visual score between light and shadow. The granular texture of film and the precision of digital technology function in his work as a dialogue between transience and permanence, document and poetry.
Matijević’s oeuvre explores night as an existential condition: Night Life evokes the ecstatic energy of bodies, Noir City offers the enigma of shadows, Secret City reveals the subconscious of the urban landscape, while Nocturno transforms silence into meditative eros.
His photography does not dictate a narrative but opens a space for contemplation. It is precisely this ability to find sanctity and intimacy in darkness that positions Matijević’s work beyond local boundaries, naturally belonging to the international gallery scene.
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"Scenes of Zagreb at Night by Damir Matijević"
At night, as we know, all cats are grey, yet so too are objects, ambiences, the shapes of things, half-veiled in darkness and appearing more uniform, neutral, monotonous than under the light of day. But nocturnal sources of light, in their turn, gather selectively, drawing only certain fragments out of the dark, shaping new hierarchies of meaning and of importance among the illuminated. And the night wanderer then chooses what draws his eye, what stirs his interest and if that wanderer is a photographer, he frames scenes where light and shadow enter into dialogue, where signs emerge, where depths, even abysses, of darkness open up, traced by faint glimmers we cannot remain indifferent to.
Damir Matijević often wandered by night through his beloved Zagreb, camera in hand, catching curious scenes and situations. Like a nocturnal moth, he was especially drawn to the glow of streetlamps; like a pilgrim, he returned again and again to parks and their commemorative cores. Yet it was most often those sources of light that fell into his frame , lights forced to struggle for their status against the nearby walls that threatened to absorb them, or in competition with trees that rhythmically fractured the composition. Among Matijević’s most luminous sequences of Zagreb at night are surely those where rows of streetlamps glow in unison, reflected in water or entwined with trunks and canopies.
Most intriguing, perhaps, is Matijević’s relationship to glare and radiance, light that often storms into the very heart of the frame, threatening, in its diffusion and scattering, to blur the coordinates of the captured motif. And here we recall how, in an earlier exhibition, he sought instead firm contours and clear spatial markers, the very geometry of the scene (indeed, the title of that show, Walls, Floors, Pillars, Vaults, testified to his pronounced desire to fix architectural elements, verticals and horizontals).
This time, however, he wished for the opposite effects, not the static but the dynamic, not rigid lines but fluid currents coursing through the frame. Of course, the difference lies also in the very nature of the ambience, not merely in the hour of the day: earlier works were born in the south, in narrower spaces where the sun dictated order, while the views of Zagreb at night were captured in a northern atmosphere, shaped by artificial light that spread concentrically through the breadth and depths of space.
At times, Matijević may also have wished for a firmer geometric anchor, a clearer perspectival plan. The scene with the railway platforms, with its pronounced centrality and focus on the point where side diagonals intersect; the view of tram rails gleaming beneath the light-trail of a passing vehicle, with its firm “linework”; or the neon-framed façade of Elektra, with its emphatic skewed rectangle, all these speak to that wish. Yet in most of the works, it is the softness and tenderness of light that prevails: light that caresses the air around it, gliding gently across surfaces that reflect it with intimacy.
"Tonko Maroević, art historian and literary critic, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts." ( 2014 - Gallery "Vladimir Filakovac", Zagreb, Croatia -
"Zagreb by Night" - preface to the Catalog )
Damir Matijević (Zagreb) oblikuje vizualni jezik u kojem noć postaje paradigma i unutarnjih i vanjskih svjetova. Njegove fotografije nisu zapisi vremena, već metafizički zapisi, prizori u kojima grad prestaje biti puka kulisa i pretvara se u simbol tijela, sjećanja i žudnje.
Privučen onime što ostaje skriveno od dnevne percepcije, Matijević noći pristupa kao prostoru oslobođenja i introspektivne jasnoće. Njegova kamera , podjednako digitalna (Nikon 7500) i analogna (Rollei 120 mm u seriji Nocturno) ne juri slučajnosti, već gradi atmosferu, bilježeći trenutke kao vizualnu partituru između svjetla i sjene. Zrnata tekstura filma i preciznost digitalne tehnologije u njegovom radu funkcioniraju kao dijalog između prolaznosti i trajanja, dokumenta i poezije.
Matijevićevo stvaralaštvo istražuje noć kao egzistencijalno stanje: Night Life evocira ekstatičnu energiju tijela, Noir City nudi enigmu sjena, Secret City otkriva podsvijest urbanog krajolika, dok Nocturno tišinu pretvara u meditativni eros.
Njegova fotografija ne nameće naraciju, već otvara prostor za kontemplaciju. Upravo ga ta sposobnost da u tami pronađe svetost i intimnost smješta izvan lokalnih granica. Matijevićevo djelo organski pripada međunarodnoj galerijskoj sceni.
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"Noćni prizori Zagreba Damira Matijevića"
Noću, kako se zna, sve mačke su sive, ali s njima i predmeti, ambijenti, oblici stvari, poluzastrti tamom, djeluju jednolikije, neutralnije, monotonije nego pod svjetlom dana. No noćni izvori svjetla u toj tami djeluju selektivno: iz nje izvlače samo određene fragmente, oblikujući nove hijerarhije značenja i važnosti. A noćni šetač tada bira ono što mu privuče pogled, što pobudi interes, i ako je taj šetač fotograf, kadrira prizore u kojima svjetlo i sjena ulaze u dijalog, gdje izranjaju znakovi, gdje se otvaraju dubine, pa i ponori tame, iscrtani slabim sjajem kojem ne možemo ostati ravnodušni.
Damir Matijević često je noću lutao svojim voljenim Zagrebom, s fotoaparatom u ruci, loveći znatiželjne prizore i situacije. Poput noćnog moljca, posebno ga je privlačila svjetlost uličnih lampi; poput hodočasnika, iznova se vraćao parkovima i njihovim komemorativnim jezgrama. No najčešće su to ipak bili izvori svjetla koji su mu upadali u kadar, svjetla koja su se borila za status u odnosu na obližnje zidove koji su ih prijetili progutati, ili u natjecanju s drvećem koje je ritmički cijepalo kompoziciju. Među najsvjetlijim Matijevićevim zagrebačkim sekvencama svakako su one gdje redovi uličnih lampi sjaje usklađeno, odraženi u vodi, ili upleteni među debla i krošnje.
Možda je najintrigantniji aspekt Matijevićevog pristupa odnos prema blještavilu i svjetlosnom odsjaju, svjetlu koje često provaljuje u samo središte kadra, prijeteći da svojom difuzijom i raspršenjem zamući koordinate motiva. I tu se možemo prisjetiti kako je u jednoj ranijoj izložbi težio suprotnom: jasnim konturama i čvrstim prostornim orijentirima, gotovo geometrijskom ustroju prizora (što je uostalom naznačeno i samim nazivom te izložbe — Zidovi, podovi, stupovi, svodovi, koji upućuje na izrazitu želju za fiksiranjem arhitektonskih elemenata, vertikala i horizontala).
Ovaj put, međutim, on priželjkuje suprotan učinak, ne statiku, već dinamiku; ne krute linije, već protočne tokove unutar kadra. Razlika, dakako, leži i u samoj prirodi ambijenta, ne samo u dobu dana: prijašnji radovi nastali su na jugu, u uskim prostorima gdje je sunce diktiralo red; dok su ovi zagrebački noćni prizori uhvaćeni na sjeveru, u ozračju umjetnog svjetla koje se širi koncentrirano, u širinu i dubinu prostora.
Ponekad, Matijević možda i poželi čvršće geometrijsko sidro, jasniji plan perspektive: prizor s kolodvorskim peronima, s izraženim središtem i naglaskom na sjecištu dijagonala; pogled na tramvajske tračnice koje sjaje pod svjetlosnim tragom vozila u prolazu, s jasno iscrtanim “crtovljem”; ili pročelje Elektre uokvireno neonom, s naglašenim ukošenim pravokutnikom, svi ovi kadrovi govore u prilog toj težnji. No u većini radova ipak prevladava mekoća i nježnost svjetla: svjetla koje miluje zrak oko sebe, klizi tiho po površinama koje ga odražavaju s intimnošću.>*
"Tonko Maroević, art historian and literary critic, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts." ( 2014 - Gallery "Vladimir Filakovac", Zagreb, Croatia - "Zagreb by Night" - preface to the Catalog )
Drawn to what remains hidden from daylight perception, Matijević turns to darkness as a space of liberation and introspective clarity. His camera, equally digital (Nikon 7500) and analog (Rollei 120 mm in the Nocturno series) does not chase chance but constructs atmosphere, capturing moments as a visual score between light and shadow. The granular texture of film and the precision of digital technology function in his work as a dialogue between transience and permanence, document and poetry.
Matijević’s oeuvre explores night as an existential condition: Night Life evokes the ecstatic energy of bodies, Noir City offers the enigma of shadows, Secret City reveals the subconscious of the urban landscape, while Nocturno transforms silence into meditative eros.
His photography does not dictate a narrative but opens a space for contemplation. It is precisely this ability to find sanctity and intimacy in darkness that positions Matijević’s work beyond local boundaries, naturally belonging to the international gallery scene.
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ILLUMINED BY REFLECTION
"Scenes of Zagreb at Night by Damir Matijević"
At night, as we know, all cats are grey, yet so too are objects, ambiences, the shapes of things, half-veiled in darkness and appearing more uniform, neutral, monotonous than under the light of day. But nocturnal sources of light, in their turn, gather selectively, drawing only certain fragments out of the dark, shaping new hierarchies of meaning and of importance among the illuminated. And the night wanderer then chooses what draws his eye, what stirs his interest and if that wanderer is a photographer, he frames scenes where light and shadow enter into dialogue, where signs emerge, where depths, even abysses, of darkness open up, traced by faint glimmers we cannot remain indifferent to.
Damir Matijević often wandered by night through his beloved Zagreb, camera in hand, catching curious scenes and situations. Like a nocturnal moth, he was especially drawn to the glow of streetlamps; like a pilgrim, he returned again and again to parks and their commemorative cores. Yet it was most often those sources of light that fell into his frame , lights forced to struggle for their status against the nearby walls that threatened to absorb them, or in competition with trees that rhythmically fractured the composition. Among Matijević’s most luminous sequences of Zagreb at night are surely those where rows of streetlamps glow in unison, reflected in water or entwined with trunks and canopies.
Most intriguing, perhaps, is Matijević’s relationship to glare and radiance, light that often storms into the very heart of the frame, threatening, in its diffusion and scattering, to blur the coordinates of the captured motif. And here we recall how, in an earlier exhibition, he sought instead firm contours and clear spatial markers, the very geometry of the scene (indeed, the title of that show, Walls, Floors, Pillars, Vaults, testified to his pronounced desire to fix architectural elements, verticals and horizontals).
This time, however, he wished for the opposite effects, not the static but the dynamic, not rigid lines but fluid currents coursing through the frame. Of course, the difference lies also in the very nature of the ambience, not merely in the hour of the day: earlier works were born in the south, in narrower spaces where the sun dictated order, while the views of Zagreb at night were captured in a northern atmosphere, shaped by artificial light that spread concentrically through the breadth and depths of space.
At times, Matijević may also have wished for a firmer geometric anchor, a clearer perspectival plan. The scene with the railway platforms, with its pronounced centrality and focus on the point where side diagonals intersect; the view of tram rails gleaming beneath the light-trail of a passing vehicle, with its firm “linework”; or the neon-framed façade of Elektra, with its emphatic skewed rectangle, all these speak to that wish. Yet in most of the works, it is the softness and tenderness of light that prevails: light that caresses the air around it, gliding gently across surfaces that reflect it with intimacy.
"Tonko Maroević, art historian and literary critic, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts." ( 2014 - Gallery "Vladimir Filakovac", Zagreb, Croatia -
"Zagreb by Night" - preface to the Catalog )
Damir Matijević (Zagreb) oblikuje vizualni jezik u kojem noć postaje paradigma i unutarnjih i vanjskih svjetova. Njegove fotografije nisu zapisi vremena, već metafizički zapisi, prizori u kojima grad prestaje biti puka kulisa i pretvara se u simbol tijela, sjećanja i žudnje.
Privučen onime što ostaje skriveno od dnevne percepcije, Matijević noći pristupa kao prostoru oslobođenja i introspektivne jasnoće. Njegova kamera , podjednako digitalna (Nikon 7500) i analogna (Rollei 120 mm u seriji Nocturno) ne juri slučajnosti, već gradi atmosferu, bilježeći trenutke kao vizualnu partituru između svjetla i sjene. Zrnata tekstura filma i preciznost digitalne tehnologije u njegovom radu funkcioniraju kao dijalog između prolaznosti i trajanja, dokumenta i poezije.
Matijevićevo stvaralaštvo istražuje noć kao egzistencijalno stanje: Night Life evocira ekstatičnu energiju tijela, Noir City nudi enigmu sjena, Secret City otkriva podsvijest urbanog krajolika, dok Nocturno tišinu pretvara u meditativni eros.
Njegova fotografija ne nameće naraciju, već otvara prostor za kontemplaciju. Upravo ga ta sposobnost da u tami pronađe svetost i intimnost smješta izvan lokalnih granica. Matijevićevo djelo organski pripada međunarodnoj galerijskoj sceni.
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OSVIJETLJENO ODRAZOM
"Noćni prizori Zagreba Damira Matijevića"
Noću, kako se zna, sve mačke su sive, ali s njima i predmeti, ambijenti, oblici stvari, poluzastrti tamom, djeluju jednolikije, neutralnije, monotonije nego pod svjetlom dana. No noćni izvori svjetla u toj tami djeluju selektivno: iz nje izvlače samo određene fragmente, oblikujući nove hijerarhije značenja i važnosti. A noćni šetač tada bira ono što mu privuče pogled, što pobudi interes, i ako je taj šetač fotograf, kadrira prizore u kojima svjetlo i sjena ulaze u dijalog, gdje izranjaju znakovi, gdje se otvaraju dubine, pa i ponori tame, iscrtani slabim sjajem kojem ne možemo ostati ravnodušni.
Damir Matijević često je noću lutao svojim voljenim Zagrebom, s fotoaparatom u ruci, loveći znatiželjne prizore i situacije. Poput noćnog moljca, posebno ga je privlačila svjetlost uličnih lampi; poput hodočasnika, iznova se vraćao parkovima i njihovim komemorativnim jezgrama. No najčešće su to ipak bili izvori svjetla koji su mu upadali u kadar, svjetla koja su se borila za status u odnosu na obližnje zidove koji su ih prijetili progutati, ili u natjecanju s drvećem koje je ritmički cijepalo kompoziciju. Među najsvjetlijim Matijevićevim zagrebačkim sekvencama svakako su one gdje redovi uličnih lampi sjaje usklađeno, odraženi u vodi, ili upleteni među debla i krošnje.
Možda je najintrigantniji aspekt Matijevićevog pristupa odnos prema blještavilu i svjetlosnom odsjaju, svjetlu koje često provaljuje u samo središte kadra, prijeteći da svojom difuzijom i raspršenjem zamući koordinate motiva. I tu se možemo prisjetiti kako je u jednoj ranijoj izložbi težio suprotnom: jasnim konturama i čvrstim prostornim orijentirima, gotovo geometrijskom ustroju prizora (što je uostalom naznačeno i samim nazivom te izložbe — Zidovi, podovi, stupovi, svodovi, koji upućuje na izrazitu želju za fiksiranjem arhitektonskih elemenata, vertikala i horizontala).
Ovaj put, međutim, on priželjkuje suprotan učinak, ne statiku, već dinamiku; ne krute linije, već protočne tokove unutar kadra. Razlika, dakako, leži i u samoj prirodi ambijenta, ne samo u dobu dana: prijašnji radovi nastali su na jugu, u uskim prostorima gdje je sunce diktiralo red; dok su ovi zagrebački noćni prizori uhvaćeni na sjeveru, u ozračju umjetnog svjetla koje se širi koncentrirano, u širinu i dubinu prostora.
Ponekad, Matijević možda i poželi čvršće geometrijsko sidro, jasniji plan perspektive: prizor s kolodvorskim peronima, s izraženim središtem i naglaskom na sjecištu dijagonala; pogled na tramvajske tračnice koje sjaje pod svjetlosnim tragom vozila u prolazu, s jasno iscrtanim “crtovljem”; ili pročelje Elektre uokvireno neonom, s naglašenim ukošenim pravokutnikom, svi ovi kadrovi govore u prilog toj težnji. No u većini radova ipak prevladava mekoća i nježnost svjetla: svjetla koje miluje zrak oko sebe, klizi tiho po površinama koje ga odražavaju s intimnošću.>*
"Tonko Maroević, art historian and literary critic, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts." ( 2014 - Gallery "Vladimir Filakovac", Zagreb, Croatia - "Zagreb by Night" - preface to the Catalog )