Maja Ruznic

Maja Ruznic (1983, Bosnia and Herzegovina) immigrated to the United States with her family in 1995, settling on the West Coast. She studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and received an MFA from the California College of Arts. Ruznic’s often-quoted biography – a refugee who escaped the Bosnian War – is only the beginning of her journey.

A prolific and active artist, she is primarily a painter, a storyteller who conjures form and narrative from ground up mineral, smeared oil, and stained canvas. Ruznic’s vivid paintings speak for themselves, depicting figures that seem to emerge from the caverns of human history, from within their own supports, and somehow from within the viewer’s own recollections. These paintings breach something intrinsically human and Ruznic guides us deftly with dark humor and complex representations, not dissimilar to Werner Herzog’s wry, but poignant 3-D documentary depicting the oldest painted images in the world.

Among her exhibitions: “Hi Woman! La notizia del futuro”, curated by Francesco Bonami, Museo di Palazzo Pretorio, Prato, 2021; “In the Sliver of the Sun: Maja Ruznic”, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, 2021; “Parallax: A RAiR Connection Exhibition”, Roswell Museum and Art Center, 2018; “Sincerely Yours”, Torrance Art Museum, 2015. In 2018, she was awarded the Hopper Prize. Various museum collections contain her works, such as the Dallas Art Museum and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Her work has been written about extensively, most notably in ArtMaze Magazine, Juxtapoz, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Studio Visit Magazine, and twice in New American Paintings, including the cover as selected by curator Anne Ellegood.