BLUE CITY, a solo exhibition by Katarina Andjelkovic

Singidunum Gallery of The Association of the Artists of Applied Arts and Designers of Serbia, in Belgrade, is pleased to present: BLUE CITY, a solo exhibition by Katarina Andjelkovic.

Katarina Andjelkovic – BLUE CITY

21-29 June 2024

The extreme conditions of an unprecedented rainstorm paralyze the city. Affected by post-apocalyptic floods, city infrastructure suddenly grows, congests and overwhelms buildings. In this way, the infrastructure supports the movement of water in horizontal and vertical directions and pumps water out of inhabited areas with a pipe system. The question is open: can color in painting offer a way to discover water as architecture, that is, how the elements of nature like water can become architecture using the language of art? By integrating various shades of blue into the city structure, infrastructure and abstract tectonics, I deal with the representation of architectural elements in relation to the polyvalent meaning of the color, the formal and material qualities of the image. In the game of mosaic abstract planes and collage fragments, the blue color grows into a constructive grid that carries the exposed decaying structures of the buildings. These congested infrastructural grids speculate on how water becomes an archetype of the city’s reconstruction process after flood disasters. The exploration of architectural representation reintroduced painting as a way of thinking about space, light and color. Nevertheless, the paintings are essentially modern: they are pictures of fragments, collages, assemblages, parts that represent the whole of mosaic abstract planes and rectangular forms. The project consists of 8 spatial sequences in which unexpected environments and places are transformed into active protagonists.

Exhibition program: 21-29 June 2024

The author will give a multimedia lecture entitled “Image making in the aftermath of the digital revolution.” All presented works were published in international scientific journals (Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Web of Science) and exhibited internationally.

BIOGRAPHY

Katarina Andjelkovic, with a Ph.D., M.Arch.Eng., M. Applied Arts, is a theorist, practicing architect, researcher and painter. She is a high-skilled draftsman, writer and researcher. Andjelkovic is simultaneously engaged in architectural practice, teaching, and research. Katarina’s research, writing and teaching, focus on how ideas can be translated across different media, crossing architecture, visual arts and film. Katarina is currently a MUSAE artist-in-resident (Politecnico di Milano). Katarina has extensive experience in teaching architecture and visual arts: as a Visiting Lecturer at Coburg University of Applied Sciences – Faculty of Design (Department of Architecture) in Germany (2023); as a Visiting Professor at Epidemic Urbanism Initiative (Columbia University and Morgan State University, U.S.); as the main instructor of the HAND-DRAWING COURSE at SMT New York, U.S. (2021), a Visiting Professor and Chair of Creative Architecture, University of Oklahoma (2017), Institute of Form Theory and History in Oslo, Institute of Urbanism and Landscape in Oslo, Norway, at The University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture. Katarina is guest-lecturing and mentoring at TU Delft – Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, AHO – Oslo School of architecture and design, FAUP Porto, DIA Anhalt Dessau, ITU – Istanbul Technical University. She lectures internationally at conferences in more than 40 countries in Europe, United Kingdom, North America, Canada, Australia, China, and South America. Katarina has published her research widely in international journals (Web of Science). She is a full author of the Preliminary Architectural Design, a national project supported by the government of Serbia. She won the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce Award for Best Master Thesis defended at Universities in Serbia in all disciplines. Katarina has published 3 monographs and book chapters with Intellect United Kingdom, University of Chicago Press (U.S.), Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group (London, United Kingdom), Büchner-Verlag eG, Marburg/Germany, etc. During her Ph.D., Andjelkovic’s research stays were all at European universities in Copenhagen, Ljubljana, Porto, Dundee U.K., Brighton U.K., Dublin, Madrid, etc. Andjelkovic exhibited her artwork at 8 Solo Exhibitions and at more than 80 international architectural, fine arts, and photography exhibitions, including group exhibitions at Pall Mall Gallery in London, Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, MAAT Museum in Lisbon, International Biennial of Illustration ”Golden Pen” in Belgrade, Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, TU Delft in the Netherlands, the Museum of Applied Arts in Belgrade, the National Museum in Belgrade, Prodajna Galerija “Beograd” (Kosancicev venac, Belgrade), Gallery Singidunum in Belgrade, Stepenište in Art Education Center ”Šumatovačka”, Gallery of the Central Military Club, Suluj Gallery, Pavillion Cvijeta Zuzoric of the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia, and Mala Gallery of the Association of Fine Artists of Applied Arts and Designers of Serbia. Katarina is a recipient of EDRA’S 2022 AMBASSADOR FUND AWARDS [California, U.S., Awarded in South Carolina], THE ULUS 2021 Spring Exhibition Award “INVISIBLE PORTRAIT” [awarded by Association of Fine Artists of Serbia], and won numerous awards for her architecture design and urban design competitions.

Exhibition opening: Friday, June 21, at 19h.

Visits: Mon-Fri 10-20h, Saturday 10-17h, Sunday: closed.

Access: from the ground floor, catalogue (print) available during the event, e-catalogue available on demand.

Contact: Katarina Andjelkovic: katarina.code@gmail.com

Address: Singidunum Gallery, 40 Kneza Mihaila Street, Belgrade 11000, Serbia