At the Kovačić Macolić Gallery in Varaždin, on Monday, December 4, at 6 p.m., an exhibition of works by the prominent Slovenian academic sculptor Marijan Mirt, entitled Sculptural Dedication through the Prism of Identity, will be opened. The exhibition, organized on the occasion of Varaždin City Day, will be inaugurated by the Mayor of Varaždin, Dr. Neven Bosilj, the Mayor of Maribor, Aleksandar Saša Arsenovič, and honorary guest Prof. Dunja Bezjak. The exhibition will remain open until January 31, 2024.
After completing his formal education in Zagreb, Marijan Mirt moved to Maribor and later pursued further artistic training in Paris. His rich multicultural experience and deep familiarity with life in these cities have left a visible mark on his creative practice. Mirt identifies fundamental issues of contemporary society and, drawing on classical iconographic methods, encodes them symbolically in strongly expressive sculptures. In shaping metaphors for incomprehensible human behaviors and social norms, the artist often turns to animal motifs. He explains:
“My sculpture of wild boars in a herd is a rebellion against the relentless destruction of natural habitats and the climate change that follows. […] But wild boars can also be metaphorically linked to migrants and their struggle for bare survival. They are likewise a warning about the destroyed balance that mercilessly narrows and eradicates everything – above all, the space in which we live. By translating these sculptures into urban and gallery spaces, I amplify that very context.”[1]
Through his exploration of phenomenological problems of alienation, Mirt’s ideas intersect with the fields of philosophy and social theory. His innovation lies in complementing pessimistic interpretations with a measure of irony, thereby introducing an element of wit. Over time, the semantic effect of paradox in his sculpture has become increasingly pronounced. During his two-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, inspired both by the city’s vibrant cultural landscape and by its exclusivity towards foreigners, the artist delved into the context of being in this metropolis.
While drawing inspiration from the architectural elements of classical Paris, Mirt paid particular attention to the characteristic street bollards that demarcate pedestrian areas from traffic zones. For him, these bollards became another key motif in his oeuvre, symbolizing “the resilience of urban structures, the enduring legacy of Paris, but also other connotations.”[2] Furthermore, his appropriation of the hand motif from Aristide Maillol’s sculpture Air in the Jardin du Carrousel lends a surrealist dimension to this cycle.
The exhibited sculptures thus emerge from the absorption of subjective experience, yet Mirt deliberately leaves ample space for the viewer’s own interpretation. Despite the cited references, each reading resists definitiveness.
Marijan Mirt pushes the boundaries of creative expression both in terms of semantics and sculptural technique. He diverges from classical sculpture in several respects: his works are often created without preliminary sketches, while to traditional sculptural processes he adds new technologies such as 3D scanning and digital printing. Mirt’s sculptures are the product of intrinsic preoccupations as well as a formal approach that fuses classical sculptural craftsmanship with technical procedures borrowed from other disciplines. As interlinked premises within a broader mechanism, his seemingly simple structures in fact carry the artist’s critical reflections and personal confessions, opening the field to multiple interpretations.
Born in Zagreb in 1975, Mirt graduated from the School of Applied Arts and Design (Department of Sculpture) and received his Master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. In 2000 he moved to Maribor, Slovenia. He is the author of numerous public monuments in Slovenia and abroad, has held more than thirty solo exhibitions, and has participated in many group exhibitions across Europe. He is a member of several professional and artistic associations, including the Maribor Fine Artists Society (DLUM), the Slovenian Association of Fine Artists’ Societies (ZDSLU), and the Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts (ULUPUH).
The quality of his work is confirmed by numerous prestigious awards and recognitions, among them Slovenia’s national Rihard Jakopič Award (2020) and the Glazer Charter (2023). He received the Gold Medal for Sculpture at the Salon des Beaux Arts at the Carrousel du Louvre in 2017 and again at the Orangerie of the Palais du Luxembourg in 2022. He has also been awarded the DLUM Prize four times (2013, 2017, 2018, 2019).
Mirt is active in sculpture, painting, digital design, photography, and art pedagogy. He lives and works in Maribor.
Klara Macolić Kuparić
