Matthew Trbuhović

Matthew Trbuhovic (b. 1962, Ōtepoti Dunedin) lives and works in Roseneath, Ōtepoti Dunedin, New Zealand. He is an Emmy nominated illustrator and digital designer and holds a Master of Fine Arts (Distinction) from the Dunedin School of Art (2021).

Matthew has worked as a Digital Designer and Illustrator since 1996. As Creative Director for The Bureau Interactive he designed, storyboarded, and produced graphics for numerous acclaimed international TV series. Working with some of New Zealand’s finest studios, he produced 2D graphics and 3D animation with NHNZ for BBC Worldwide, Animal Planet, National Geographic, and Discovery Channels. In 2003, at the 24th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Matthew was nominated for an Emmy for his illustration work on Animal Planet's 'The Most Extreme'.

Matthew was a principal NZ fiction book cover designer with Random House NZ for over 10 years and produced designs for more than 50 New Zealand novels including works by Janet Frame, Alan Duff, Brian Turner, and Fiona Kidman. Matthew has worked as Digital Designer for ADInstruments, a global life science research and education software/hardware developer, since 2014.

Matthew returned to art making in 2020, undertaking an MFA that culminated with the solo exhibition Arrested Movement in 2021.

ABOUT THE WORK

This artwork is concerned with creating a sensation of optical vibration for the viewer, affecting the senses momentarily and provoking curiosity in perception and the optical experience. Deliberately devoid of figurative references, the imagery is conceived as a potential antithesis of attention-grabbing marketing media. The intention is to distract the viewer's optical sense from the visual clamour of modern life in order to provide in a singular sensory event.

All works are digitally hand painted in Adobe Photoshop. No filters, effects, digital automation or AI is used. This process, intentionally or not, produces analogue fluctuations to the anticipated digital rhythm due to the involvement of the human hand.

These works are produced on archival paper, mounted on aluminium board, and finished with a UV protective matt laminate. Size is typically from 300 to 1000 mm square.

Works are available for sale as originals, and some in very limited editions. Please use the form on the Contact page to enquire.

EDUCATION

1995: Diploma of Fine Arts (Honours), Dunedin School of Art

2021: Master of Fine Arts (Distinction), Dunedin School of Art

selected exhibitions

1991: Unrelated Works, Photographs from the Collection of the Dunedin School of Art, group exhibition

1994: Photography International Magazine, Certificate of Merit and featured photographer

1995: Photographic & Digital Collages, Bond Street Gallery, Dunedin

2003: Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Graphic and Artistic Design

2017: A3: Artists At ADInstruments, group exhibition, ADInstruments Dunedin

2021: Arrested Movement, Dunedin School of Art Gallery

2021: DSA Foundation Art Collectors’ Exhibition & Auction, group exhibition, Dunedin School of Art Gallery

2022: The Foundation Exhibition, Port Chalmers Foundry Charitable Trust, Pea Sea Art, Dunedin, group exhibition

2024: The N & M Collection (Joe Simonetta), NAP Contemporary Art Gallery, Mildura, Australia, private collection group exhibition

UPCOMING: A Matter of Perception, RDS Gallery Dunedin, 13 December - mid-January 2025, group exhibition