MARIJAN MIRT / Artist Statement
I am a sculptor working at the intersection of figuration, displacement, and presence. My work engages with forms and bodies that emerge from the peripheries—social, symbolic, and spatial. Shaped by themes of marginality, tension, and overlooked existence, my sculptures navigate the fragile boundary between the recognizable and the abstract, between urban residue and lived memory.
I combine traditional sculptural methods with digital processes such as 3D scanning and printing. These hybrid forms often begin as silent witnesses—found in public infrastructure, observed in the movements of urban wildlife, or drawn from mythic archetypes—and are reinterpreted through material gesture, fracture, and repetition.
My practice is grounded in the belief that sculpture can give voice to what society leaves behind. Through installations, interventions, and stand-alone works, I aim to open poetic space for ambiguity, unease, and reflection.
BIOGRAPHY
Marijan Mirt (b. 1975, Zagreb, Croatia) is a sculptor and visual artist based in Maribor, Slovenia. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and has lived and worked in Slovenia since 2001.
Mirt has exhibited widely in both solo and group shows across Slovenia and internationally, with notable appearances including Art Critics' Choice at Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana (2018), Made in Maribor II at Maribor Art Gallery – UGM (2022), and Majski Salon 2025: Mehka Moč at Ptuj City Gallery (2025). His work has received several prestigious awards, including the Taylor Foundation Prize (2024), two Gold Medals for Sculpture at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris (2017, 2022), the Rihard Jakopič Recognition (2020), and the Glazer Charter (2023).
In 2023, Mirt presented the solo exhibition Ugrabitev Evrope (The Abduction of Europa) at KiBela Gallery, MMC KIBLA in Maribor, where he explored mythological narratives through contemporary sculptural practice. His work often integrates traditional sculpting techniques with digital tools such as 3D scanning and printing, addressing aesthetic, social, and existential questions through hybrid material forms.
In 2024, as part of the official program of the European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica–Gorizia 2025, he unveiled Nekaj od mnogih (One of Many) in Tolmin. The large-scale public sculpture, composed of three anthropomorphic figures with rabbit heads, reflects on themes of depersonalization and collective anonymity in the contemporary world. Initially conceived during sculpture workshops at the Sajeta festival, the work was later shown at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, where Mirt was awarded a Gold Medal for Sculpture.
Mirt is a member of the Slovenian Association of Fine Artists (ZDSLU), the Maribor Fine Artists Society (DLUM), and the Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts (ULUPUH). He is also the founder of the Milena Lah sculpture section at the Croatian Cultural Society in Maribor. His sculptures are installed in public spaces across Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, and Russia, and are included in public collections in France, Slovenia, Croatia, and Russia.
CONTACT
Phone |+386 41 274 004
Email | mail@mirt.si
Instagram | @wrongform
Studio | Maribor, Slovenia (visits by appointment only)
For inquiries regarding exhibitions, commissions, collaborations or press, feel free to get in touch.