Ištvan Išt Huzjan

Ištvan Išt Huzjan (Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1981) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. He founded his own publishing house – 21st Century Books – in 2006, which specialises in artist’s books. In 2009, he completed a two-year residency programme at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. Between 2010 and 2020, he completed several other residency programmes, including the National Art Studio residency in Chang-dong, Seoul and the residency flat belonging to the Slovenian Ministry of Culture in New York. In 2014, he received the Belgian Fernand Baudin prijs award for the most beautiful artist’s book, as well as the Grand Prix of the 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts – Over you/you in Ljubljana a year later. Huzjan is a recent winner of the Grand Prize of the 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts awarded by the MGLC International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He was an artist in residence at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has exhibited internationally at The Modern Gallery and Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (MG+MSUM), Ljubljana, Slovenia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Macedonia; The Center for the Humanities James gallery at CUNY Graduate Program, New York, USA; Villa Empain, Bogossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium; SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin, Germany; the 51st Venice Biennial, Venice, Italy, among others. Some of his more significant recent independent exhibitions include: Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City, Mexico, the MERE retrospective at the City Gallery Ljubljana, and at the Vjenceslav Richtera and Nada Kareš Richter Collection/Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb.

His performances and sculptures create tension between opposing poles: avant-garde and neo-avant-garde, public and private, material and immaterial. The artist’s personal narrative facilitates his examination of different media, while also revealing Huzjan’s need to be on the move and explore the media’s boundaries. His performances use simple actions, such as walking, to consider the distances between people, spaces and even single steps as basic unit of locomotion. In these works as well as in his sculptures, he muses on society, historical facts, geography, and the relationships between individuals.

Residencies, awards, and stipends/scholarships: The Brumen Award for Excellence in Slovenian Design, The Brumen Foundation, National Gallery, Ljubljana; Work stipend from the Slovenian Ministry of Culture (2022); The Fondazione Morra Greco Residency, Naples, IT (2021); The Montoro 12 Residency, Rome, IT (2020); The Opening Prize Award for best booth, ARCO Madrid, ES (2019); The Stacion residency, Pristina, Kosovo (2015); The Fernand Baudin prijs Award, Brussels, BE (2014); The Kamov Residency, Rijeka, HR (2013); The Lokaal 01 Residency, Antwerp, BE (2012); The Komplot Residency, Brussels, BE; The Fonds BKVB Live Scholarship, NL (2010); The Stichting Kees Verwey Scholarship, NL; The Rotary Klub Slovenija Scholarship, SI (2008); The City of Ljubljana Scholarship, Ljubljana, SI (2001/2009).