Matjaž Počivavšek was born in 1955 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 1978, completing postgraduate studies in sculpture under Slavko Tihec in 1980. He further studied at the New York Studio School (1980–1981) under William Tucker, and at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1983–1986). He has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana since 1996. He lives and works between Ljubljana and Paris. Selected awards: 1980 – The Prešeren Award for Students; 1991 – The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award; 1991 – The Prešeren Foundation Award; 2001 – The Rihard Jakopič Award.
