the artist was born in zagreb in 1970. from 2007 to 2011 he was an assistant professor, from 2011 to 2017 associate professor and since 2017 he has been a regular professor at the academy of fine arts at the university of zagreb.
since 1995 he has had 45 solo exhibitions in croatia and abroad. his work has been included in exhibitions of croatian artists at international art events. matko studied in japan, turkey and india.
he has been described as one of the most important croatian painters of today’s generation. his works are in numerous museum, private and public collections, including the museum of modern art and the museum of contemporary art in zagreb, the public gallery of fine art in split, the filip trade collection, the collection of the first bank, etc.
matko’s work has been critically acclaimed on several occasions, and he has received more than a dozen awards and recognitions for his artistic work, most notably in zagreb in 2001 (annual award of the croatian association of artists), in lissone in 2003 (premio lissone), at the 10th and 12th international biennials of cairo in 2006 and 2010, and was also represented at the 53rd international art exhibition la biennale di venezia in 2009. in 2003 he was awarded the annual “filip trade” contemporary art prize in zagreb, and in 2005 the art pavilion held a major exhibition of his work entitled animal circle – the zodiac circle.
in recent years matko has transferred his characteristic power of composition and dynamism to media ranging from prismatic canvases painted with a mixture of oil, wax and varnish to cut iron objects, initiating a dialogue with the reality around him and offering an engaging interpretation of the symbols, emblems, ornaments and insignia of the contemporary world.
he lives and works in zagreb, croatia.
