Matija Rubinić is a collage artist based in Rijeka, Croatia, who blends analog and digital techniques to create captivating mixed-media works. Alongside his artistic practice, Matija is a high school teacher, sharing his knowledge in graphic design and audio production. His creative journey began in the DIY, punk, and fanzine scenes, influences that still shape his art today.
Matija’s collages are more than just visual compositions—they are introspective explorations of emotion, fragility, and self-questioning. For him, the process is an ongoing search for simplicity and poetic sequences, with an emphasis on concept over convention. Collage, as a medium, allows him to experiment and venture into the unknown, creating new stories from visual fragments
His approach to collage is free-spirited and fluid—he cuts and pastes materials, adding details digitally or with traditional painting and graphic techniques. Matija doesn’t abide by any strict rules; sometimes he incorporates unconventional materials like wool, metal, or even food, depending on the mood and idea behind each piece.
This liberation from the structured world of graphic design, where he often finds himself constrained by screens and grids, allows him to break free and embrace more intuitive, irrational, and playful forms of expression.
Matija draws inspiration from a diverse array of sources, including comics, pop culture, literature, and poetry. He admires artists like Henri Matisse, Hannah Höch, James Rosenquist, and Alex Colville, among many others—though he finds just as much inspiration in the work of lesser-known artists, especially those he encounters on Instagram.
Artist: Matija Rubinić.
