Ferdo Mayer - The Artist, Written in Color

In the UGM – Maribor Art Gallery, in collaboration with the Municipal Museum Kamnik – Miha Maleš Gallery and the Mayer family, an exhibition titled Ferdo Mayer / The Artist, Written in Color was opened on Saturday, January 25, 2025. It presents a selection of works by the painter Ferdo Mayer (1927–1994), who spent the first 27 years of his life in Maribor, where he was also born. He first presented himself in his hometown as a high school student in 1941, and then with a solo exhibition in 1954. This is also the year when he moved to Kamnik due to his job. The exhibition showcases a selection of works from his rich body of work. Curator is Saša Bučan.

Last year marked 30 years since the death of the painter and art teacher Ferdo Mayer. He was born on March 8, 1927, in Maribor. After primary school, he enrolled in the art school in Graz. In 1946, he was among the first students to start their studies at the newly founded Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. Many established painters and professors of the time passed on their knowledge to him, including France Mihelič (drawing), Božidar Jakac (graphics), and Gojmir Anton Kos (painting), to name just a few. After completing his studies (1950), he furthered his knowledge in painting specialization with Gojmir Anton Kos. Initially, he shared his knowledge as a teacher at the Maribor high school, where he taught drawing, and in 1954, he moved to Kamnik, where he and his wife first lived in the Zaprice Castle, later moving to a new house near the Titan factory. It was his regular employment that led him to settle in Kamnik, where he began teaching at the Fran Albreht Primary School. He taught art until 1978 when he fully dedicated himself to his artistic career and gained the status of a freelance artist.

In the field of fine arts, he successfully obtained two Moša Pijada scholarships, which enabled him to travel for study purposes. With the first scholarship, he traveled to Paris. The innovations in modern art he saw there, which he could follow in numerous galleries, made a strong impression on the young artist. This also reflected in his artistic work, which began to explore and seek challenges mainly in the abstract direction. The second scholarship took him abroad again, this time to Northern Europe – Sweden. This was followed by trips to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Italy.