Portrait by Marlene Hausenegger
Luiza Margan is a visual artist from Rijeka, Croatia with a studio address in Vienna, Austria. She studied painting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, before pursuing Performative Arts and Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, with focus on conceptual art, where she obtained her MA in 2013.
Margan's work delves into the interplay between public spaces and historic narratives, utilizing sculpture, performance, video, and installation to challenge conventional perceptions. Her projects often engage directly with communities, fostering dialogues that emphasize egalitarianism and transparency. By intertwining artistic research with social design, Margan crafts immersive experiences that resonate on both personal and collective levels.
Luiza Margan has exhibited in numerous international cultural institutions and has staged critically acclaimed artistic interventions in public spaces. Her works are held in prestigious public and private art collections, including the Museum of Modern Art Salzburg, the Museum of Contemporary Art Belvedere 21 in Vienna, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the Tobacco Museum in Ljubljana and others.
Among her many accolades, she was awarded a Fellowship at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York (2008/09) and the 2019 Fellowship for Visual Artists at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Cache, Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, DE
2023 Red Lines, +359 Gallery, Sofia, BG
2022 Sisters, permanent work, SCOPE, Berlin, DE
2022 Mit offenen Armen, Kunstraum Weikendorf, NÖ, AT
2021 Top Lage, SCOPE BLN, Berlin, DE
2020 Beloved Monster, Art Lab Gleis 1, Regensburg, DE
2019 ZONE 1, viennacontemporary Art Fair, Structura Gallery
2018 Visibility Reward, EIKON Schaufenster, MQ, Vienna, AT
2017 Split Dioptre, Parallel Art Fair, Galerie Kunstbuero, Vienna, AT
2016 notwithstanding, Musa, Startgalerie, Vienna, AT
2015 The Golden and the Ghostly, Hypo Konzernzentrale, St. Pölten
2014 Funny Business, Mali Salon, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rijeka, CRO
2011 Outside the Role, SC Gallery, Zagreb, CRO
2010 Melting Ground, Kunstverein das Weisse Haus, Vienna, AT
2009 Ground Work, Vaska Emanoilova Gallery, Sofia, BG
2009 Interstice, Habres and Partner Gallery, Vienna, AT
2009 Interspaces, Tobacco Museum, Ljubljana, SLO
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Familiar Others, curated by Phillipe Batka and Vanessa Joan Müller, Leopold Museum, Vienna, AT
27/7 Work Between Meaning and Imbalance, Kunsthaus Graz,
curated by Katia Huemer and Martin Grabner, AT
Gute Eichen am Krast, Galeria Seno, Sela na Krasu, SLO
Räume öffnen!, Museum der Moderne, curated by Barbara Herzog, Tina Teufel, Harald Krejci, Salzburg, AT
2023
The Visible Ones, MMSU, Rijeka, CRO
Die Zeit zerfällt oder das Maß an Unordnung, curated by Rotor, Kunsthaus Muerz
Border and Territory, Kunsthaus Graz, AT
Supermodels, curated by Bianca Pedrina, Kunstraum SUPER, Vienna, AT
The Visible Ones, MSU, Zagreb, CRO
2022
Border and Territory, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, CRO
Urban Text. This Space Called Balkan, Institut des Cultures d’Islam, Paris, FR
Sammlungspolitik. Neuzugänge im Museum der Moderne, Generali Foundation Salzburg, AT
Jadran, Kunsthalle Trier, DE
2021
One Monument in Time, curated by zweintopf, Forum Stadtpark, Graz, AT
Biennale für Freiburg, curated by Leon Hoesl, DE
More Real Than Reality, Structura Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Bigger than Myself. Heroic Voices from ex-Yugoslavia, curated by Zdenka Badovinec at MAXXI - National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, IT
2020
It’s Your Mo(nu)ment, Kunsthalle Wien - Karlsplatz, Vienna, AT
Gymnastics, acb Gallery, Budapest, HU
Moving in Still Time: A Series of Consecutive Exercises, Exhibition and Symposium, Amsterdam, NL
Symbol, curated by Zsolt Petranyi, Austrian Cultural Forum, Budapest, HUN
ACTIONS, PERFORMANCES, WORKS IN PUBLIC SPACE
2024 Hotel Emigranti, Public Space Intervention, Sela na Krasu, SLO
2022 Sisters, permanent sculptural work, SCOPE, Berlin, DE
2021 Monument in the Making, performative sculpture, Biennale für Freiburg, Germany
2015 Listening, Performative Sculpture, curated by the curatorial team WHW, Zagreb, Croatia
2014 Eye to Eye with Freedom, Work in Public Space, Production Soft Control / Copula-Spajalica and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia
2014 Restaging Monument, Studio Golo Brdo, Rovinj, Croatia
2012 Concert for a Sewing Machine and a Tree, Work in Public Space, Production Urban Festival, curated by BLOK, Zagreb, Croatia
ACQUISITIONS - PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
VIG, Vienna Insurance Group
Generali / Museum der Moderne, Salzburg
Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
Arthotek of the City of Vienna, AT
Young Art Collection, Hypo Niederösterreich, St. Pölten, AT
Arthotek des Österreichischen Bundesministeriums, 21 Haus, AT
Tobacco Museum, Ljubljana, Slovenia
KD Group, Art Collection Ljubljana, Slovenia
RESIDENCIES
2023 ZF Stiftung, Residency at Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, DE
2021 Scope BLN, Invitation based Project Residency, Berlin, DE
2020 The Spread of a Crack is Halted by a Hole, M4 Guest Studios, Amsterdam, NL
2019 Fellowship Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, DE
2018 Istanbul Residency, supported by BMKÖS, Austria
2017 Following the Traces of Communism in Albania, short term, Albania
2016-17 Parterre Art Space, Mexico City, MEX
2015/16 Mexico City Residency, supported by BMKÖS Austria
2013 On Art, Cities, and Regeneration, Ramdom, Default 13, Lecce, IT
2012 Changdong National Art Studio, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
2010 La Générale en Manufacture, Sèvres, Paris, France
2008–09 ISCP Studio Grant, New York, USA
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2023 Annual Work Grant, City of Vienna, AT
2021 Award for Innovative Cinema of the City of Graz, Diagonale Film Festival, Group Project with The Golden Pixel Cooperative, AT
2018-19 Annual Research Fellowship, Ministry of Art and Culture, Croatia
2015 Young Art Award, Hypo Konzernzentrale, St. Pölten, AT
2014/15 BMWFW Award, Austrian Federal Chancellery for Science, Research, and Economics
2014 Recognition Award of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, AT
2013 Acquisition, Art Collection, Artothek des Bundes, AT
2012 TH-T & Museum of Contemporary Art Award, Zagreb, CRO
2010 Shortlisted for Ruf Award, Sofia, BG
2007 OHO Award for Best Young Visual Artist, Ljubljana, SI
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS / AQUISITIONS
State Collection of Photography, Austria, 21 Haus Museum, Vienna
Museum of Modern Art/ Generali Collection, Salzburg
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia
City of Vienna Collection of Art, Austria
Tobacco Museum, Ljubljana, Slovenia
KD Group Art Collection, Ljubljana, Slovenia
PUBLIC TALKS IN CULTURAL INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT
2023 Unarchivable, Panel talk with Nora Sternfeld, Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, DE
2022 Mit offenen Armen, public discussion with citizens of Weikendorf, Kunstraum Weikendorf, AT
2018 Wie die Dinge liegen, artist talk with Yu Ji and Luiza Margan, Schaustelle, Vienna
2015 Public Stories, Gallery Nova, Zagreb, CRO
2015 Art that Changes the World, Symposium in Art Gallery Maribor, SLO
2013 Reenactment of the Performance by the Artist Group TOK, Künstlerhaus - Halle für Kunst und Medien, Graz, AT
2012 Feminism in Croatian Art, Changdong National Art Studio, Seoul, South Korea
2008 Margan & Presker - On Collaboration, Apex Art, New York, USA
TEACHING / WORKSHOPS
2023 Co-development of the archive-based project and exibition with the students of the Zeppelin University, Friedrichsafen, Germany
2022 Monuments, creative workshops for children, Kindermusuem, Vienna, AT
2021 Public Matters, Merz Academy, selective - week, Stuttgart, Germany