Hotel Arka in Skopje hosts the 16th international art colony “Skopje 2021”, organised in the period between 15 and 25 September. One of the participants at the colony is the Slovak artist Matej Červeňan from Trenčín, Slovak city candidate for the European Capital of Culture 2026.
In August, SKOPJE 2028 signed a letter showing the intent for cooperation with Trenčín 2026 within the candidacy for the European Capital of Culture. The first cooperation in the field of visual arts between these two candidates was realized within the international art colony “Skopje 2021”.
Trenčín preselected two artists from the city in an open call, from which the art colony jury in Skopje selected Matej Červeňan to participate. During his short stay in Skopje, Matej made five paintings, three of which were presented at the closing ceremony at the Arka Hotel. Matej is visiting Skopje for the first time and he finds the city interesting and inspiring.
Matej Červeňan represents the youngest generation of Slovak painters. He works in Bratislava and Trenčín. He currently studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. In his work, he focuses mainly on contemporary expressions in painting. The choice of themes, as well as the final design, depends primarily on the spontaneous selection and decision, here and now. This spontaneous approach to painting allows him, in some cases, to transcend traditional approaches to painting. He creates paintings in which, instead of colours, he relies on other raw materials.
Other participants in the international art colony are: Marija Zdravković and Joskin Siljan from Belgrade/ Serbia, Mare Šuljak from Zagreb/ Croatia, Rajko Todorović Todor from Podgorica/ Montenegro, Ivana Nasteska, Tatjana Maneva, Fehim Husković and Trajče Blazevski from Skopje and Strahil Petrovski from Kumanovo/ N.Macedonia
International Art Colony “Skopje 2021” is organized by the city cultural institutions with financial support from the City of Skopje and in partnership with Hotel Arka Skopje.
