Janez Bernik
Janez Bernik (born September 6, 1933 in Gunclje near Ljubljana , † July 15, 2016 in Prebold ) was a Slovenian painter and graphic artist . He was one of the most important representatives of graphic art in the former Yugoslavia after the Second World War .
life and work
After graduating from the arts and crafts school, Bernik began studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 1955 , with Professor Maksim Sedej, and later graphics with Professors Božidar Jakac and Riko Debenjak. In 1959 he received a grant from the French government for an academic training in the graphic studio of Johnny Friedlaender , the pioneer of modern color etching in Paris . He went on study trips to Italy and France .
From 1958 to 1969 he worked as a freelance artist. From 1970 he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana as professor for drawing and painting, from 1979 as full professor and department head for painting until his retirement in 1996.
He was a member of Group 69 and participated in all of their exhibitions. 1989, Bernik became an associate member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana, from 1993 as an appointed member. In 1992 he was appointed to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome and since 1996 has been a full member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg .
Janez Bernik was a versatile artist with an international reputation as a painter, graphic artist, illustrator , designer of tapestries , book illustrations and as a poet. He had more than 60 solo exhibitions in Slovenia and around the world, including in all the major galleries of the former Yugoslavia, in Klagenfurt , Milan , Rome , Paris , Berlin , New York City . He was a participant in the Venice Biennale several times and, in 1964, in documenta III in Kassel . His poems were published in two editions from 1970 onwards.
He has received several national and international awards for his work. In his home country he was awarded national prizes for painting and graphics (1963), the Jakopič prize for painting (1971) and the Prešeren Award (1981) and has received multiple international honorary awards and gold medals for graphics. His paintings are part of the collections of the Slovenian gallery in Ljubljana, Maribor , Ajdovščina and of galleries and museums in most of the major European cities ( London , Vienna , Prague , Zagreb , Warsaw , Paris , Rome , Amsterdam ). Many of his works are shown in galleries in North and South America ( San Francisco , Washington, DC , New York, Buenos Aires , Rio de Janeiro ) and in Japan ( Tokyo ).
Literature and Sources
- documenta III. International exhibition ; Catalog: Volume 1: Painting and Sculpture; Volume 2: Hand Drawings; Industrial design, graphics; Kassel / Cologne 1964
- Literature by and about Janez Bernik in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bernik, Janez |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Yugoslav and Slovenian painter and graphic artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 6, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gunclje near Ljubljana |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th July 2016 |
| Place of death | Prebold |