Vida – Ejti Štih

The exhibition Vida by academic painter Ejti Štih explores relationships between men and women, as well as the questions of power, social roles, and machismo that have remained an enduring part of humanity throughout history.

Vida is the Spanish word for “life”, but it is also the name of the Slovenian artist Vida Pauluša, who has created hundreds of embroideries and lace designs. A special feature of the exhibition is a large bridal veil that Ejti Štih has made from Pauluša’s works. The piece serves as a symbolic reminder of the work women do that is invisible to others or overlooked, and a reminder of the social expectations traditionally imposed on them.

The exhibition presents 18 works in which the artist explores stereotypical social roles, the issue of subordination, and gender inequality. As in much of her work, Ejti Štih does not offer answers; rather, she invites visitors to reflect and draw their own conclusions.

Ejti Štih: “Men are expected to be strong and invincible bulls, tough and powerful. Women are expected to be sweet and fragile dolls, shy and submissive. In a society dominated by the belief that there are only men and only women, people crown their lives with holy matrimony. This exhibition is about that winding journey.”

The Vida exhibition will be on display in the Bitenc Hall from 15 June to 31 August 2026.

Ejti Štih was born on 25 November 1957 in Slovenia. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana and completed her postgraduate studies in the workshop of Krsto Hegedušić in Zagreb. Following her marriage, she became a Bolivian citizen. Since 1982, she has lived and worked in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Throughout her artistic career, she has worked across painting, sculpture, ceramics, installations, and printmaking. She has also created illustrations for books, magazines, newspapers, and posters. She taught drawing and painting at the Visual Arts Workshop and at Puerta Abierta in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

Štih has designed costumes and stage sets for more than fifty theatre productions in Slovenia, Bolivia, and Spain, as well as carnival costumes and garments. She has also created stage designs for several editions of the International Festival of Renaissance and Baroque Music of the Americas (Misiones de Chiquitos).

She has held more than 170 solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous biennials and group exhibitions in Slovenia, Bolivia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Panama, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Portugal, France, the United States, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Brazil, the former Yugoslavia, Ecuador, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Guatemala, and Martinique (French Antilles).

Since 2005, she has served as co-founder and voluntary director of Manzana 1 Espacio de Arte. Since 2021, she has been Honorary Consul of Slovenia in Bolivia.