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When Berlin, Germany-based artist Tomislav Topic needed a fast, on-budget solution for a large art installation at a festival in 2014, inspiration came during a trip to the hardware store.
A couple of years prior, he’d become fascinated with the moiré effect that occurs when grids hang behind each other and created an installation with wool strings to express that interest. Then, in 2014, a request came for a similar piece but more budget-friendly.
“I went to the home improvement store and found reinforcement fabric,” he explains. “It was perfect for my use: It had a grid, was fire-resistant, quite strong, light and easy to paint—that was the beginning of my signature material.”
He’s become known for his wildly colorful site-specific abstract art installations, whether they’re murals, huge wooden sculptures or textile pieces appearing at festivals and exhibitions around the world. And creating large, outdoor statement pieces requires outdoor-rated materials (although some of his paintings and textile works do fit indoors in galleries, of course).
“My favorite material is still fiberglass mesh,” Topic says, “because I work very closely with a big manufacturer and I can have this material in so many different variations. Sadly, this material outside, with wind and weather, won’t last forever. So if I want to have a work that stays stronger with the weather for a longer period, like more than six months, I take the PVC mesh. If a work is permanent, I go with a steel grid.”
The drawback to the steel is the loss of the interaction of the artwork with the wind, he says. “When the wind goes through my [fabric] installations, they become even more magic.”
The site itself and how a person will see the work also influences his choice of material. “The mesh size I decide by
the distance the viewer will look at it,” he says. “Also, the hole sizes define the transparency and opacity level.”
His works appeared around the world in 2025, including in Pensacola and Miami, Fla.; Chateaugiron, Gisors and Paris, France; Berlin and Hamburg, Germany; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Tokyo, Japan; and Mumbai, India. This year began with an installation in Dubai in January.
Suppliers should take note: He says he has found some size limitations in products in his supply chain and would like to connect with additional manufacturers. Find him at tomislav-topic.com.
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