New Archaeology – An Exhibition by Andreja Hojnik Fišić and Nikola Rajić

The exhibition title New Archaeology is a deliberate linguistic and conceptual inversion. It does not denote the mere uncovering of antiquities, but a creative process in which two artists act like archaeologists of the contemporary age. Instead of the brush, they reach for destruction, reconstruction and new materials, pointing to the constant of their own creative experience, founded on deep reflection on and structuring of the space of the painting. Through a dialogue between their native cities – ancient Pula and Diocletian’s Split – the artists boldly break down and reshape their recognisable signature, creating spaces of new composition through the destructuring of material.
In this exhibition Andreja Hojnik Fišić evolves her established “white painting”, reorganising it with inputs of new materials and techniques.
Nikola Rajić abolishes the boundaries between painting and sculpture, conquering a new medium – relief in metal. His attention is held by the processes of corrosion on iron plates under the influence of seawater, air and sun, but also by the brutal mechanical assaults of construction machinery. His painting-reliefs establish painful historical connections and act as a direct outcry against the contemporary devastation of ancient sites.
The new artistic works of these authors are not merely aesthetic objects, but engaged notes on nature, monuments to the transience of time and loud appeals for the preservation of our endangered tangible and intangible heritage.e prirode, spomenici prolaznosti vremena i glasni apeli za očuvanje naše ugrožene materijalne i nematerijalne baštine.