17. 10. 2025–20. 11. 2025 Polona Maher / Hustle and Bustle

Polona Maher / Hustle and Bustle
UGM Kabinet, Strossmayerjeva 6
17 October–20 November 2025
opening: Friday, 17 October 2025, 19:00

curator: Breda Kolar Sluga

The sculptor Polona Maher makes a long-awaited return to Maribor’s art scene. In the UGM Kabinet, this distinctive artist presents an entirely new body of work developed over recent years. Her interventions – situated within the domain of drawing in space – are always “drawn” spontaneously, as direct responses to particular environments and social contexts. Until now, she has often employed strings, wires, chains and ribbons of various origins and artistic qualities.

In the current installation, fishing materials take centre stage, inspired by her summer stays by the sea. Polona Maher writes of this experience: In summer, in Dalmatia, I watch fishermen and am drawn to the materials they use – from strong cords to nets and floats. On the advice of a fisherman named Igor, I visited the Lubin shop for fishing supplies in the Neretva Valley, and a sea of drawing and sculptural ideas opened up before me. (Poaching, Shoal, Break of Waves, Sea Grass, Fish Bone, Stripes, Spawn).

Knitting needles play a key role in this exhibition too. The artist has been collecting them for some time from centres for reuse. Once an avid knitter herself, she now transforms them into vivid structural elements of her sculptures (Fish Bone and Poaching).

By combining the new and the old, the visually appealing yet often overlooked in the art world, the sculptor engages viewers with striking spatial drawings that, beneath their surface charm, also touch on themes of recycling and “women’s art”.

Polona Maher’s practice aligns with women artists who have introduced soft and everyday materials into sculpture – from Eva Hesse and Sheila Hicks to contemporary Slovenian creators exploring textiles and reuse. Through the interweaving of new and old, she draws attention to the potential of overlooked materials and poses critical questions about women’s labour and the redefinition of sculpture today.

Polona Maher (born 1971 in Maribor) graduated in sculpture from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna and in art education from the Faculty of Education, University of Maribor. She began her career as a freelance artist and in recent years has been active in teaching. Her works are included in the permanent collections of the Maribor Art Gallery, the Bank of Slovenia, the NLB Art Collection, the Palazzo Forti Gallery in Verona, and various private collections.