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UGM Kabinet
Works from the UGM Collection

Due to shortage of space, the works from the UGM Collection cannot be permanently exhibited on a larger, transparent scale. While Maribor Art Gallery continues to fight for better working conditions, the UGM Kabinet, however, by occasional periodic selections of works from the Collection offers visitors a chance to get acquainted with them.

Cabinet of curiosities, Kunstkabinett, Wunderkammer are words describing a space of passionate yet systematic collecting activity. The cabinet is a space, half private, half public, where one may contemplate in solitude, or a place of intellectual gathering. A collection of small treasures opens a doorway to poetic understandings of the world which surrounds us. The play of composition and a precise selection create stories of time, meaning, and passions for knowledge. The cabinet is where imagination comes to roam.

The UGM Collection contains over 5,000 artworks including all forms of visual art and representing the highlights of Slovenian fine arts. Represented in this collection are leading exponents of modern and contemporary art, particularly from the regions of Štajerska, Koroška, and Prekmurje. The collected works range from the end of the 19th century to the present. The Maribor Art Gallery (UGM) has been running the first collection of video art in Slovenia since 1999. With its systematic compilation of the most important works of prominent Slovenian video artists, the gallery has created a collection that has become a reference point in the national and international arena, being one of the most active international players in this field. In 2009, we have enlarged the photographic collection by 140 photographs from the Maribor Circle − Maribor's avant-garde group of photographers from the 1970s − and by a donation of over 900 photographs by Maribor photographer Janko Andrej Jelnikar. In 2015, Maribor Art Gallery acquired 100 works by Ivan Dvoršak with the help of the Ministry of Culture, while the remaining legacy was donated. In 2017, Stojan Kerbler donated to the gallery 100 of his own excellent black-and-white photographs mounted on fibreboard, including the famous series Pig Slaughter and Haloze Cycle. In 2017, the Ministry of Culture supported the acquisition of 100 photographs by Zora Plešnar, while the photographer donated the rest of the oeuvre without the negatives.

The UGM Collection deserves a permanent presentation that will accomplish its potential as a reference point for education, research, inspiration, socialising, and empowerment.