Živko Marušič

(20.9.1945, Colorn - )

Živko Marušič is one of the leading representatives of the New Image movement, which took shape in the 1980s on European and overseas soil. He spent his youth in Primorska. There he completed primary school and then enrolled in several secondary schools in Koper. In 1967, he was accepted to the Accademio di Belle Arti di Venezia, where he briefly studied painting.

He continued his education in art at the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts. There he was taught by Zoran Didek, Gabrijel Stupica and Janez Bernik, who influenced his further work. Marušič completed his studies in 1975. He researched the influence of photography as a template on the creation of a painting. After completing his education, he went abroad. He understood that it was crucial for his further development to become acquainted with other European artists and their way of working. He visited Paris, Venice, Rome, Sicily, Madrid and London. Both at home and abroad, Marušič was only interested in figurative art. He always used photographic templates to help him paint, as he sought a sense of floating in his paintings.

Marušič's images are painted from a bird's eye view, so they seem a bit unusual at first glance. In addition to painting, he also enjoys sculpting, as he interprets the images he creates as painted sculptures. In them, he tries to harmoniously harmonize the three-dimensionality of the figure with the two-dimensionality of the canvas. Živko Marušič's artistic expression is extremely eclectic and relies on a variety of styles and techniques. He conveys thoughts from dreams and visions that the artist creates about the world himself into his images. He is an extremely good colorist, which is why he is often written about as a virtuoso of color.

Before starting to create, Marušič prepares a comprehensive sketch on which he also writes down his observations in words, and only then does he touch the canvas. He has received numerous awards for his work. Among the more prestigious awards are the Moša Pijada Foundation award for a study stay in Paris and the Jakopič Award in 1998. A year later, he also received the Prešeren Fund Award for Painting. The artist still lives in Koper, where he continues to create.

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Živko Marušič je eden izmed vodilnih predstavnikov gibanja nove podobe, ki se je v 80ih letih izoblikovalo na evropskih in čezoceanskih tleh. Svojo mladost je preživel na Primorskem. Tam je dokončal osnovno šolo nato pa se je vpisal na več srednjih šol v Kopru. Leta 1967 so ga sprejeli na Accademio di Belle Arti di Venezia, kjer je kratek čas študiral slikarstvo.

Izobraževanje v umetnostni smeri je nadaljeval na ljubljanski Akademiji za likovno umetnost. Tam so ga poučevali Zoran Didek, Gabrijel Stupica in Janez Bernik, ki so vplivali na njegovo nadaljnje ustvarjanje. Leta 1975 je Marušič študij zaključil. Raziskoval je vpliv fotografije kot predloge na nastanek slike. Po končanem izobraževanju se je odpravil v tujino. Razumel je, da je za njegovo nadaljnje snovanje ključnega pomena, da se seznani z drugimi evropskimi ustvarjalci in njihovim načinom dela. Obiskal je Pariz, Benetke, Rim, Sicilijo, Madrid in London. Tako doma kot tudi v tujini se je Marušič zanimal le za figuralno umetnost. Pri slikanju si je vselej pomagal s fotografskimi predlogami, saj je v slikah iskal občutek lebdenja.

Marušičeve podobe so naslikane s ptičje perspektive, tako da na prvi pogled delujejo nekoliko nenavadno. Poleg slikanja se rad ukvarja tudi s kiparstvom, saj ustvarjene podobe interpretira kot slikane skulpture. V njih poskuša harmonično uskladiti tridimenzionalnost figure z dvodimenzionalnostjo platna. Likovni izraz Živka Marušiča je izredno eklektičen in se opira na raznovrstne sloge in tehnike. V podobe prenaša misli iz sanj in vizij, ki si jih umetnik ustvari sam o svetu. Je izredno dober kolorist, zato o njem večkrat pišejo kot o virtuozu barve.

Preden se loti ustvarjanja si Marušič pripravi izčrpno skico na katero tudi z besedo zapiše svoje opažanje, šele nato pa seže na platno. Za svoje delo je prejel številne nagrade. Med uglednejše sodi priznanje Fonda Moše Pijade za študijsko bivanje v Parizu in Jakopičeva nagrada leta 1998. Leto kasneje je prejel tudi Nagrado Prešernovega sklada za slikarstvo. Umetnik še vedno živi v Kopru, kjer nadaljuje z ustvarjanjem.

Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history

SOURCES/VIRI:
Miloš BAŠIN, Živko Marušič približevanja, https://mgml.si/sl/bezigrajska-galerija-1/razstave/498/zivko-marusic/ (17.1.2026).
S.ILIČ – Nelida NEMEC, Marušič, Živko (1945–). Slovenska biografija, 2013. http://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi923420/#primorski-slovenski-biografski-leksikon (21.2.2026).
Peter ŠTOKA, Živko MARUŠIČ. (1945-). Obrazi slovenskih pokrajin, Kranj, 2020, https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/zivko-marusic/ (11.1.2006).

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