Underneath: Emerging Complexities

In Underneath: Emerging Complexities, artist and architect Jelena Pejković presents a selection of drawings and mixed-media pieces created over the past ten years. These are complemented by new works from her current residency at ORTE Architekturnetzwerk Niederösterreich in Krems. The exhibition brings together drawings of buildings and architectural structures that sharpen our view of the familiar and allow us to experience what we take for granted in a new way.

What emerges when we don’t consume architecture as an image, but instead devote time to it? This question runs through Pejković’s drawing practice. In a present shaped by digital tools, algorithms, and accelerated workflows, she relies on slow and concentrated observation. “Drawing architecture by hand is my way of fully engaging with my surroundings,” she says of her approach. Every stroke demands a decision, every line demands attention; the drawing thus becomes not merely a representation of a building, but a testament to an intense process of perception.

The drawn motifs often seem unspectacular: facades, architectural elements, spatial situations. Yet it is precisely in this apparent ordinariness that Pejković discovers a hidden complexity. Upon closer inspection, structures, relationships, and details emerge that are easily overlooked in everyday life. “Layers of complexity arise from the most ordinary structures,” says the artist.

The title Darunter (Underneath) refers to this movement of the gaze: behind surfaces, beneath the obvious, into those realms where architecture becomes more than its visible form. The exhibition invites visitors to take the time to look and to experience architecture as a process—as an interweaving of material, space, memory, and attention from which ever-new complexities emerge.

Cover image © Jelena Pejković:
Dominikanerkloster / Museumkrems I ∙ 2026 ∙ Graphite, gouache, watercolor and ink on found paper ∙ 36x20cm
Dominikanerkloster / Museumkrems II ∙ 2026 ∙ Graphite, gouache, watercolor and collage on found paper ∙ 36x20cm
Dominikanerkloster / Museumkrems III ∙ 2026 ∙ Graphite, oil pastel and ink on found paper ∙ 36x20cm

Participation is free of charge. The venue is fully accessible.
Please note that photographs will be taken during the event and may be used for public relations purposes and documentation.