Piran Coastal Galleries preserve various art collections, a selection of artworks ranging from modern to contemporary, both from the national and the international art scene, with a particular attention towards local art. Initially, the collections were the immediate consequence of the exhibition activity, but during the years the disordered gathering of the artworks developed into a policy of reasoned acquisitions of valuable pieces that embody the main principles of Piran Coastal Galeries. The collection Slovene Figurative Contemporary Art after 1976, conceived by Andrej Medved (back then curator of Piran Coastal Galleries) is the result of the intense exhibition activity of the Galleries and the acquisition of artworks belonging to the most influential Slovene artists of the 70s and ‘80s. The highlight of the collection are the artworks related to the “new image” movement, of which the Coastal Galleries were an important center. It is a small museum collection; but the striking importance of the single works makes it comparable with the collections of the most important modern art galleries in Slovenia. The opening towards the international art world characterized the activity of the institution in the last years, and the private contributions of international donors helped the enrichment of the figurative art collection. The Francesco Conz Avantgarde Collection is the result of a private donation by a foreigner patron, who collected some of the most important examples of Fluxus art, one of the most experimental art movements of the Sixties, hosted by some of the most influential museums across the world, from Vienna to Los Angeles, from London to New York. Among the other collections, the Littoral Art Collection stands out.
It includes some of the most creative and unique artists raised in the southern littoral in the last decades, following the PCG intent of promoting, supporting, and showing through dedicated exhibitions the best artists the territory has to offer. Although the collection has not reached the adequate extent for having its independent space of exhibition, the intent of the institution is to continue its growth, so to become the nucleus of a future permanent collection. Piran Coastal Galleries also manage the legacy of a local painter, the Herman Pečarič Collection, and the Portorož Forma viva Collection, composed by the stone sculptures of the international symposium. Except for these two, all other collections are in the warehouse. Forma Viva in Seča, Portorož, is an international sculpture biennial and collection, located in the Sculpture Park. Most of the sculptures are located in Seča, whereas the others are distributed between the parks and the city centers of the Slovene coast. The collection of Herman Pečarič (1908-1981) is dedicated entirely to the presentation of the opus of this important Slovene painter who pictured mainly Istrian landscapes. In 1983, according to his will, the wife donated 141 artworks to the municipality of Piran, which put them on display at the self-titled gallery. For a long period, the gallery showed the whole artistic career of the painter through a large permanent collection. Since 2008, the institution shifted towards temporary exhibitions focused on single artworks or periods of his production, so to outline the importance and the relevance of the artist in todays’ visual culture.
