The 82nd ARTCaffè hosted Mateja Ristić in person in Shanghai, with the audience also connecting live from the Seoul living room. In addition to the 20 countries represented by the attendees in Shanghai and Seoul, we had people tuning in via Zoom from 5 continents, making this ARTCaffè's spread the most international to date.

Mateja focused his talk on three recent series of his paintings created during the last three years while living in China: A Portrait of the Ordinary, Unbalance, and Influence. They are all abstract works, since, in his words, "I believe that abstract art is the best way to express your feelings."

The concept behind A Portrait of the Ordinary examines some of the prevailing ways in which ordinariness circulates in the present day. "By ordinary, I simply mean something ‘normal’ or ‘common’, something lacking any atypical or unusual features; something that is neither necessarily special nor different. Here, I trace some of the normative habits and practices put to work at the intersection of technology, identity and emotion—three key areas where my portrait is situated."

Within this frame, Mateja's work questions what 'ordinary' means in contemporary life, expressing a critical attitude towards the lack of awareness that unfortunately characterizes our lives today. "Each painting is a whole in and of itself, alongside a part of the greater portrait. From the formation of a life, to its journey of becoming, to its range of results and possibilities, in this opus of 18 works, I have left room for everyone to work through their own perspectives."

To help better understanding what is behind his paintings, Mateja concluded with an overview of his multimedia work as a polymedia artist, which spans from performance, to video art and theater.