Curator
Maša Žekš
The beginning of spring brings an exhibition opening to Y Gallery: the intergenerational painting tandem – Ira and Živka Marušič. Father and daughter created five monumental works in the oil, wax and pigment techniques on canvas with a unique subtle work process. At their centre, the works present the artists’ captivation with nature, interpersonal relationships, the dreamlike coexistence of different entities and, finally, their own creative milieu. The title of the exhibition refers to their joint painting and sharing of the studio, as well as to a nostalgic memory from the turn of the last century, when their creative collaboration began with playful, colourful compositions filled with childish innocence and curiosity.
The interventions of individual authors are commonly clearly visible and distinguishable on their current works; Ira Marušič places quickly recognisable motifs of cacti and various pieces of fruit and vegetables in the expanded infinity of the monochrome space. Živko Marušič’s then intervenes in the existing work with a bolder, often anthropomorphically stretched figure. Such a work process also results in the double addressing of individual paintings, on which, in addition to the cardinal elements, there are also fantastic creatures, colourful fruits and minor details, such as a high-wing plane, a horse, a match and Mt. Triglav. In one of the paintings, their dialogue takes place solely between a rabbit hybrid with spines and a horizontally drawn human figure with black hair. Elsewhere, the works are more saturated and, despite the spaciousness and subtle floating of individual elements, appear as a more compact cumulative whole; for example, the work Izpod Triglava / Ippolita (From under Triglav / Ippolito), which depicts a girl and a stallion appearing in the background.
The so-called Mediterranean radiance is dominated by intense red, blue and green pigments, which in the unencumbered optimism of individual fragments, and while playing with depth in space, develop into vivid, partially fantasy-driven, surrealist narratives. The exhibition is complemented by two miniatures on which there are recurrent elements of specific plant and animal species. Sometimes humorous, magical, disproportionate, and above all, sensual images of Ira and Živko Marušič achieve a mystical mixture of personal intimate stories, woven politics, eroticism, irony, vitalism and expressionism.
Ira Marušič (Koper, 1989) graduated in 2012 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice under professors Carlo Di Rac and Elena Ribera with the thesis “Il cuore nell'arte e nella medicina” (The Heart in Art and Medicine). She continued her post-graduate studies in Venice and in 2015 received her master’s degree in painting under the mentorship of prof. Carlo Di Raco and Aldo Grazzi with the thesis “Il tempo e l'arte” (Time and Art). She lives and works in Koper.
Živko Marušič (Colorno, Italy, 1945) received his formal education between 1967-75 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice (under Prof. Saetta and Zotti) and at the painting school in Ljubljana (under Prof. Didek and Stupica), from which he graduated in 1975 with the topic “Photography as a basis for creating an image”. Vital for his artistic practice were his stays in Paris, Rome, Venice, Sicily and London. Marušič is one of the leading representatives of the colour-loving new image in Slovenia. His artistic endeavours are characterised by substantive statements with an abundance of bitter humour, as well as satirical accents and serious observations, which he builds into compact colour compositions. In 1998, he represented Slovenia at the biennial in Sao Paulo. He received the Jakopič Award (1998) and the Prešeren Fund Award (1999).
