Damir Mataušić was born in Zagreb in 1954. He graduated in 1979 from the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, under the mentorship of Professor Želimir Janeš. He created his first medal in 1973 and has since primarily focused on medals and small sculptures as his artistic expression.

Today, his body of work includes over 700 completed pieces, predominantly double-sided minted medals and small sculptures. He has created more than 200 medals in gold and silver, as well as several annual awards in culture, science, sports, and public life, such as the “Marin Držić,” “Lovro Matačić,” “M. J. Zagorka,” “Ivo Horvat,” “Stjepan Ivšić,” “Mladost,” “Floraart,” “Andrija Mohorovičić,” “Ars summa universitatis,” and “Andrija Štampar” awards.

A significant segment of his work includes 44 circulating and commemorative coins minted for the Republic of Croatia and a €15 coin for the Republic of Ireland. He won third prize at the International Coin Design Competition, organized by Japan Mint in Osaka, in 2001.

In the field of public monument sculpture, he has created several notable works, including the monument to Pope John Paul II in Omišalj, the sculpture/model Zagreb Pozdravlja (“Zagreb Greets”), the sculpture Bumbina Livada (“Bumblebee Meadow”) in Bundek Park, Zagreb, the sculpture/model Zrno Soli (“Grain of Salt”) in Ston, and the sculpture/model Zadar Baštini (“Zadar’s Heritage”) in Zadar.

He has also authored several religious works, including the altar, crucifix, and Stations of the Cross for the Church of Blessed Augustin Kažotić in Zagreb, the reliquary of Saint Mirko in the church in Šestine, and, most notably, the comprehensive interior design of the Chapel of Mary, Mother of the Church at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo, completed in 2018. This project included the altar and five altar reliefs, ambo, tabernacle, eternal light, processional cross, altar and Easter candlesticks, monstrance, holy water font, ceiling relief, sedes, chairs and kneelers, window designs, engravings, lighting, and overall spatial organization. A special monograph titled Mary, Mother of the Church: The Chapel of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo was published to mark the completion of this project.

Mataušić has also designed several ceremonial chains, including the Dean’s Chain of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, the Chain of the International Mission for Science and Peace, the Dean’s Chain of the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, the Mayor’s Chain of Hrvatska Kostajnica, the President’s Chain of the Croatian Bar Association, the Chain of the Grand Master of the “Brethren of the Croatian Dragon” society, and the Dean’s Chain of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Đakovo.

He has been exhibiting since 1974, organizing 25 solo exhibitions, including significant ones like the Critical Retrospective at the Modern Gallery in Zagreb (2020), at the City Museum in Osijek (2013), the exhibition at Forum Gallery (2010), the monographic exhibition at Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb (2000), and the exhibition at the Dolenjski Museum in Slovenia (2003). He has participated in over 100 group exhibitions, including the FIDEM International Medal Exhibitions (Paris, London, Budapest, Neuchâtel, The Hague, Lisbon, Colorado Springs, Glasgow, Sofia, Ottawa) and sculpture exhibitions in Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, and the USA. He has won awards in Austria (2000) and Japan (2001). In 1996, he was awarded the Order of the Croatian Morning Star with the Effigy of Marko Marulić, and in 2019, he received the Grand Prix at the 13th Ivo Kerdić Memorial. He specialized in projects at national mints in Vienna, Cardiff, and Budapest.

Three monographs on his work have been published: in 1993 by Feđa Vukić (Damir Mataušić, published by Grafički Zavod Hrvatske), in 1998 by Bogdan Mesinger (Medallist Damir Mataušić, published by Gallery Garestin, Varaždin, and MGC Klovićevi Dvori, Zagreb), and in 2010, another monograph by Mesinger (Damir Mataušić, including a complete bibliography and list of works, published by Školska Knjiga, Zagreb).

Until his retirement at the end of the 2021 academic year, he was a full professor with tenure at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, teaching at the Department of Sculpture with a focus on Small Sculpture and Medal Making (undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate specialist, and doctoral studies). In 2022, he was awarded the honorary title of Professor Emeritus.

He lives and works in Zagreb.