Maruša Šuštar’s world of perception
from up close and from afar
The balance of order and deliberation on the world
Her train of thought takes us closer to the people that are visible on almost endless maps of planet Earth. The author paints situations and people in endless landscapes we have all seen before. Some of them resemble maps, while other imaginary landscapes or urban areas typically feature a net-like composition. Šuštar’s paintings resemble maps, bird’s-eye views, or images that could easily come from a camera or other modern electronic equipment that enables us to control everything (THE WORLD).
She paints the world of her consciousness and understanding so we can grasp and see it, too. Her landscapes are always seen from afar. Human figures come in various sizes.  But there is no way of seeing their faces because their gaze is directed towards the ground. However, this is not the case for one of her early series called The Chosen Ones. This is true and rather telling. People no longer have faces. Or identities. Our world from a myriad of bird’s-eye views is becoming more real than it actually is.
— Miloš Bašin

About my painting
During my postgraduate studies my artistic expression experienced a radical transformation and changed from an abstract coloured field to a more figurative style, which saw the introduction of an elevated viewpoint that is the least common in terms of frontal observation in everyday life. Figures were initially placed in straight lines or clusters in a typical frontal position, which raised the question of how much space they would take. By arranging the figures across the entire surface the areas in between became more interconnected with the figures, which somehow work as anchors, focal points, stains or emphasised areas where they are placed.
— Maruša Šuštar

Maruša Šuštar was born in Kranj, Slovenia on 6 April 1977. She studied industrial design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana between 1996 and 1998, and then went on to study painting at the same academy, graduating under Prof. Zmago Jeraj in 2006. 2016 she finished postgraduate studies of painting studies under mentoring Prof. Gustav Gnamuš. She lives in Mače.