Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
In 2012, Tomislav Topić unearthed a tangled collection of strings and ropes from his university years, hidden away in his studio and unused for nearly two years. The discovery proved to be a pivotal one—when he was later invited to participate in an urban arts festival, he revived the once dormant material into 33,000 Feet, a large-scale installation that would define his artistic practice for years to come. After all, it was at that moment that the Berlin-based artist first became aware of the so-called “moiré effect.”
Grounded in illusion, the moiré effect relies upon semi-transparent, repetitive structures that, when overlapped, produce what Topić calls a “visual interference that the eye cannot fully resolve.” At first glance, these works almost seem to vibrate, their individual parts merging and informing one another to the point of abstraction. It’s a subtle yet deeply affective phenomenon, transforming perception into something active rather than static.
After incorporating the moiré effect in 33,000 Feet, Topić began craving it, hoping to reproduce that sense of “optical complexity” once more. But stretching individual strings into vertical alignments proved incredibly labor-intensive, and the artist sought a material that was not only efficient, but visually stimulating. Eventually, he adopted mesh, which, years later, still stands as his primary artistic medium.
“Mesh provided an elegant solution: lightweight yet strong, fire-resistant, paintable, and globally available as a standard construction material,” Topić tells My Modern Met. “Its ubiquity allows the work to be realized almost anywhere, transforming site constraints into productive conditions.”
Now, Topić has gained international recognition for his monumental, mesh installations, all of which cleverly play with scale, perception, and, most importantly, color. “Color is an autonomous force,” the artist explains. “I am less interested in narrative, figuration, or symbolic imagery than in creating conditions where color can assert itself directly.”
With such a firm belief in color’s autonomy, it should come as no surprise that Topić’s work is an ongoing exercise in chromatic interaction. Perhaps nothing embodies that better than Echoverse, a recent project installed in the Les 3 CHA chapel in Châteaugiron, France. Delicately suspended nearly 16 meters (about 52.50 feet) in the air, Echoverse encourages close inspection of its 451 translucent, mesh panels. Depending on the viewer’s vantage point, these layers produce several different gradients, betraying Topić’s enduring interest in perception and perspective. The light filtering in through the chapel’s windows also impacts the appearance of Echoverse, emphasizing the site-specificity and interactivity at its core.
“Color permeates everyday life with profound psychological and emotional effects, yet it often remains unnoticed,” Topić explains. “My work seeks to heighten awareness of this latent power by presenting color in a reduced, abstract, and sensorial form.”
He adds: “The persistent axis of my practice is an exploration of color—its intensity, its material behavior, and its capacity to transform perception. Over time, color has become my most direct form of expression: an international language that operates beyond words, addressing perception at its most immediate and embodied level.”
To learn more about the artist, visit Tomislav Topić’s website.
In his large-scale mesh installations, artist Tomislav Topić considers themes of color, perception, scale, and perspective.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
Depending on a viewer’s vantage point, these monumental works assume different color palettes and forms, generating a sense of optical complexity.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.
“Color is an autonomous force,” the Berlin-based artist explains. “I am less interested in narrative, figuration, or symbolic imagery than in creating conditions where color can assert itself directly.”
Installation view of “Afterburn,” hovering above Intendencia St. in Pensacola, FL.
Installation view of “Afterburn,” hovering above Intendencia St. in Pensacola, FL.
Installation view of “Afterburn,” hovering above Intendencia St. in Pensacola, FL.
Installation view of “Afterburn,” hovering above Intendencia St. in Pensacola, FL.
For his latest piece, Echoverse, Topić suspended 451 translucent, mesh panels 16 meters (about 53 feet) in the air within a chapel in France.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Nexus Lucis,” situated above the altar of a church in Gisors, France.
Installation view of “Echoverse,” at Les 3 CHA in Châteaugiron, France.