Exhibition XYZ – Painting Competition Across Three Generations

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Maľba competition, the VÚB Foundation has prepared a special retrospective exhibition presenting all awarded works. The exhibition will be open to the general public with free admission at the Nedbalka Gallery from 30 January to 1 March 2026.

Between 2006 and 2025, the Maľba Competition – the VÚB Foundation Award for Young Painters created both physical and media space to exhibit a total of 400 artworks reflecting the early creative stages of 203 professional painters. From these finalist works, an expert jury—convened each year in a unique composition—selected and awarded 59 paintings. These works are now presented by the VÚB Foundation in the cross-sectional exhibition 20 Years of Maľba, which for the first time offers both professional and general audiences the opportunity to view the work of all competition winners together in one place.

Based on the jury’s decisions, over the 20 years of the Maľba competition the VÚB Foundation has distributed a total of EUR 430,000 in awards to support the further artistic development of 29 female painters and 22 male painters. Through regularly organized free exhibitions and media communication, the Foundation provides encouraging feedback to all finalists and brings new impulses to the wider visual arts community.

Exhibition and Accompanying Activities Highlighting Young Art

In addition to the 20 Years of Maľba exhibition, which runs with free admission from 30 January to 1 March 2026 at the Nedbalka Gallery in Bratislava, the VÚB Foundation, as the organizer of the competition, has prepared several accompanying events to mark this milestone anniversary. On 5 February at 5:30 PM, the public is invited to a guided tour of the exhibition led by Nina Gažovičová, a renowned expert in contemporary art and long-time professional guarantor of the Maľba competition. As part of the Maľba initiative, an expert panel discussion featuring specialists from the Institute of Art Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences will take place on 12 February at 5:00 PM at the Nedbalka Gallery. The discussion will be open to anyone interested in the development and direction of modern visual art in Slovakia. The VÚB Foundation will keep art enthusiasts informed about any additional accompanying activities.