Viorel Mărginean was born in Cenade/Szászcsanád in 1933. The son of a Transylvanian forest guard and local politician, his own passion for art bloomed early and he studied his craft extensively. As a teenager, he enrolled in a specialised school, the Liceul de Arte Vizuale ‘Romulus Ladea’ (Romulus Ladea High School of Visual Arts) in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár, graduating in 1953 (now part of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca). Later, like many of his peers, he studied at the Institutul de Arte Plastice ‘Nicolae Grigorescu’, under Ioan Marșic, graduating in 1959. His thirst still unquenched, he travelled the world to develop his craft, journeying to the United States, France and England during the 1970s.

Despite his regular travels, his native landscapes continued to hold a special place in his imagination and have, as a result, become the central motif of his corpus. They are structured around vertical lines, which dynamically stand out against his bright backgrounds. The purposeful lack of shadows renders the compositions flat, adding to their decorative style.

Mărginean’s international reputation is reflected in the scope of his personal exhibitions, which have taken place in the United States, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy and Spain. His most important exhibitions were held at Sala Dalles in Bucharest, Romania (1970), Palffy Palace in Vienna, Austria (1980 and 1992), Brukenthal National Museum in Sibiu/Nagyszeben, Romania (1996) and the National Museum of Art of Romania in Bucharest, Romania (2004)
In addition to his artistic career, Mărginean held several positions (1978–1989), Director of the National Museum of Art of Romania (1993–1995) and Minister of Culture (1995–1996).