Živko Marušič was born on 20 September 1945 in Colorno, in the Parma province. From 1967 to 1971 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, and from 1971 to 1973 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, where he completed his course of studies in 1975 with a master’s degree on “Photography as a basis for the creation of an image”. In 1998, he received the Jakopič Award for his exhibition at the Bežigrajska Gallery for the “Flags” cycle, and in 1999 he received the Prešeren Foundation Award for his retrospective exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Ljubljana, “Slika je mrtva-naj živi slika!” (The painting is dead – long live the painting!).
Živko Marušič, “War”, 1983, oil pigments on canvas, 34.5 x 58 cm. Private collection, Trieste, ph Fabio Rinaldi, courtesy Archivio Juliet
The following authors have written on his work: Miloš Bašin, Aleksander Bassin, Tomaž Brejc, Maria Campitelli, Miguel Copon, Ješa Denegri, Gabriella Gabrielli, Nadja Gnamuš, Elio Grazioli, Nina Jeza, Milček Komelj, Andrej Medved, Lev Menaše, Janez Mesesnel, Janez Mikuž, Jure Mikuž, Sava Stepanov, Biljana Tomić, Roberto Vidali, Maša Žekš, Igor Zabel, Nadja Zgonik. Works by Živko Marušič feature in the following public collections: Moderna Galerija Ljubljana, Obalne galerije Piran, Umetnostna Galerija Maribor, Galerija Prešernovih Nagrajencev Kranj, Benetton collection Slovenija. A catalogue focusing on the fifty-year career of Živko Marušič, published by Juliet and edited by Roberto Vidali, will be available at the Juliet booth at Arte Fiera 2026. For this occasion, we met the author in his studio in Koper to talk about his work and life as an artist.
Živko Marušič, “Zvončarji”, 1988, oil, pigments, wax on canvas, 100 x 70 cm; Živko Marušič, “He died for a rose”, 1989, oil, pigments, wax on canvas, 55 x 41.5 cm. Ira Marušič Collection, ph courtesy of the Artist
Fabio Fabris: Could you tell us a little about your youth and education?
Živko Marušič: When I started to give myself to art, there was still a country called Yugoslavia, steeped in socialist ideas, and everyone kept telling me that if I wanted to get anywhere, I should move at least to Ljubljana. But the city of Koper has always fascinated me, so I decided to stay here. Here we have the sea, and the border with Italy was close by.
Can you tell us something about your relationship with Andrej Medved over the years?
Since our very first meeting, Medved stirred my curiosity. He had just moved to Koper from Ljubljana, at a time when everyone was suggesting to do the opposite. He was looking for work, and through my friendship with Toni Biloslav (then director of the Coastal Galleries in Piran) he entered the art world and began working very professionally. We have collaborated for many years, organizing exhibitions and meeting a good number of established artists and critics, who have brought the small towns of Koper and Piran to international attention. Medved is the only person in this city I like to communicate with because is mind is open and creative.
Živko Marušič, “Among the tomatoes”, 1988, oil, pigments, wax on canvas, 30 x 30 cm. Ph courtesy of the Artist
You are the undisputed “champion” of the Slovenian Transavantgarde. In the age of Internet and new technologies, what do you think should be the meaning of painting?
Back when we were cavemen without mobile phones, I used to feel better and paint more, with the help of a fuel called Biska. How nostalgic…
How much does formless matter influence the construction of your images?
I proceed by accumulating fragments of pictures, and I continue in that way until my mind puts them together to paint something that was previously different or non-existent.
Živko Marušič, “Ninagatta”, 2004, oil, pigments, wax on canvas, 35.5 x 23 cm; Živko Marušič, “Beccafico”, 2013, oil, pigments, wax on canvas, 290 x 87 cm, detail. Ph courtesy of the Artist
After so many years, having undertaken and been through so many events, how do you live this historical moment: like an Indian locked up in a reservation or like a tiger hidden in the jungle?
More than a tiger or an Indian, I feel like a mouse surrounded by tons of Parmesan.
In your opinion, will the future belong to engineers or artists?
We are already living in the future: we coexist.
Živko Marušič, “W Araki”, 2006, oil, pigments, wax on Olona pure linen canvas, 300 x 300 cm. Ph courtesy of Equrna Gallery, Arne Brejc, Ljubljana
Do you have any projects in the pipeline for the coming months?
The miracle of waking up in the morning gives you the satisfaction of savoring its taste and avoid thinking too much about it.
In the text of the catalogue published by Juliet, Roberto Vidali frames your poetics on the cusp of the 1970s and 1980s within a “debate that was taking shape on opposing fronts”, referring to that dichotomy of transition between conceptual and painting that led to a reflux of history in the sense of a pictorial and figurative narrative. Do you agree?
In those years I was often tempted to jump from one side to the other, but I always remained on the first, peering at the others beyond this stagnant swamp water.
Fabio Fabris
(Translated by Paolo Cecchetto)
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