Zmago Lenárdič

Zmago Lenárdič was born in 1959 in Ljubljana. He studied philosophy and sociology at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana between 1979 and 1984, and after obtaining a degree in sociology, he studied painting at the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts. In 1988, he was awarded the student Prešeren Award by the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana.

In 1989 he became a member of the Slovenian Association of Fine Art Societies. In the same year he also joined the Glej experimental theatre and co-founded the Galerija GT art society. 

In 1992 he won a DAAD scholarship to the Atelierhaus Worpswede, Worpswede. In his 15 years as a freelance artist, he worked at home and abroad, won several professional awards, represented Slovenia internationally at symposia and Capital of Culture events (Copenhagen), and stayed in artist residencies (Worpswede, Kleinsassen, New York, Düsseldorf), and above all created artworks that defy the existing and known paradigmatic patterns of the Slovenian art scene. He began exhibiting in 1988, with his first solo shows in Ljubljana at Galerija ŠKUC and in Maribor at Razstavni salon Rotovž. Over the years, his work has been featured in numerous galleries across Europe, including notable exhibitions in Berlin (1989), Munich (1992), and Ljubljana (1996, 2002).

He participated in numerous international group exhibitions starting in 1985, including Turkey in My Mind in Ankara, 15th Yugoslav Biennale of Youth in Rijeka (1989), and Yugoslav Documenta in Sarajevo (1989). In 2006 and 2007, his work NewMoscowYork, co-authored with J. Hribernik, was prominently featured in screenings at the National Center for Contemporary Arts in Moscow and at the Long Island Digital Video Festival in New York. In 2016, he exhibited in Flat and Distant in Beijing, and more recently, he participated in Four Generations at Galerija Murska Sobota in 2024.

Since 2003, he has worked at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (ALUO) in Ljubljana as a professor at the Department of Painting. In 2004, he was conferred the Župančič Award for outstanding achievements in culture by the City of Ljubljana, and in 2012 he received the Jakopič Award. Between 2011 and 2015 he was head of the Department of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, where he is currently Chair of Painting. 

In 2019, he represented Slovenia at Festival of Contemporary Art Danube Dialogues in Novi Sad. His most recent solo exhibition, KOORDINATE / DIE KOORDINATEN, was held at Galerija ZDSLU in Ljubljana in September 2024.

Artworks by Zmago Lenárdič

Artworks Gallery

Unplugged ( - NO sense - )
Unplugged ( NO sense ) (2010)

Zmago Lenárdič

Cultured (- Relativity - after R.Debenjak, Istrian women, 1953, etching)
Cultured ( Relativity after R.Debenjak, Istrian women, 1953, etching) (2018)

Zmago Lenárdič

Hourglass (Hellorwin)
Hourglass (Hellorwin) (2019)

Zmago Lenárdič

24 / 7
24 / 7 (2020)

Zmago Lenárdič

Innuendo ( - TEAM BUILDING - )
Innuendo ( TEAM BUILDING ) (2017)

Zmago Lenárdič

Beautifuel
Beautifuel (2016)

Zmago Lenárdič

Die Klasse
Die Klasse (2014)

Zmago Lenárdič

Plugged / Unplugged ( - Red Bull Politics - )
Plugged / Unplugged ( Red Bull Politics ) (2013)

Zmago Lenárdič

Cloud (WOW)
Cloud (WOW) (2017)

Zmago Lenárdič

Innuendo ( - Maria Himmelfahrt - )
Innuendo ( Maria Himmelfahrt ) (2019)

Zmago Lenárdič