Galerija
Galerija Gorše in Vrbnikova domačija
Galerija Gorše se nahaja v Svečah (nemško: Suetschach) na južnem Koroškem (občina Bistrica v Rožu / Feistritz im Rosental).
Leta 1973 je kupil akademski kipar France Gorše Vrbnikovo domačijo v Svečah, kjer se je - 75-leten - za stalno naselil.
V nekdanjem hlevu si je umetnik uredil atelje, skedenj pa je spremenil v razstavni prostor za svoja v Svečah nastajajoča dela.
Gorše je postal član prosvetnega društva Kočna, s katerim je vsa "sveška leta" tesno sodeloval. Leta 1980 je Gorše skupno z društvom Kočna predstavil javnosti "Vrt slovenskih koroških kulturnikov" pred Vrbnikovo hišo.
Po smrti akademskega kiparja profesorja Franceta Goršeta, dne 2. avgusta 1986, je postala Vrbnikova domačija z galerijo Gorše last Slovenskega prosvetnega društva Kočna, ki od tedaj naprej ohranja hišo, galerijo in vrt, prostore pa tudi uporablja za kulturne dejavnosti.
Vrbnikova hiša se je tako spremenila v središče kulturnega delovanja slovenskega prosvetnega društva Kočna. V spodnjem, večjem prostoru, v " šiši ", se vrši pouk glasbene šole, tukaj so pevske vaje, sestanki, seje našega društva, večkrat pa tudi glasbeni nastopi.
Atelje, kjer je ustvarjal kipar Gorše, smo pred leti obnovili, zato je primeren za manjše razstave in tečaje za risanje ter za miklavževanje. Na Vrbnikov vrt je umetnik postavil stebre (stele) z glavami koroških kulturnikov, ki so skrbeli za kulturno rast in ohranitev slovenstva.
Omenim samo nekatere : " očeta koroških Slovencev ", Andreja Einspielerja, bukovnika Andreja Šusterja Drabosnjaka, Milko Hartmanovo, škofa Modesta, Antona Martina Slomška, Pavleja Kernjaka ter izredno lep kip v bronu, avtoportret umetnika.
Vsi kipi koroških kulturnikov pa so morali biti že obnovljeni zaradi razpadanja umetnega kamna, iz katerega so izdelani. To delo je opravil restavrator prof. France Golob s pomočnikom iz Ljubljane. Stroške restavracije je prevzela Republika Slovenija (Spomeniško varstvo in Etnografski muzej iz Ljubljane), naše društvo pa je moralo poskrbeti za plačilo plastičnih strešic, s katerimi smo zaščitili glave koroških kulturnikov. Edinstvena je galerija, ki jo je ustvaril Gorše na starem Vrbnikovem skednju. V tem prostoru so razstavljena dela kiparja, ki so nastala in ostala v Svečah. Vse do svoje smrti je umetnik veliko ustvarjal, največ v glini. Ko so bile skulpture žgane, jih je patiniral in jim tako dal zaželeno patino. V galeriji je tudi nekaj del v bronu, v lesu in v orešcu. Stalna razstava - galerija Gorše - je cilj mnogih obiskovalcev oz. skupin iz Slovenije, italijanske Primorske in Goriške, iz ZDA, Kanade, Argentine - malo manj pa iz Avstrije.
Vedno je poskrbljeno za vodstvo, kjer dobijo obiskovalci potrebne informacije.
Informacije in vodstvo: 04228/2373 (ga. Malka Feinig) ali /2066 (ga. Marinka Inzko).
Velikokrat so obiskovalci romarji, ki si ogledajo tudi cerkve v Podgorjah, pri Gospe Sveti in v Svečah. Letno obiščejo galerijo Gorše številni obiskovalci.
Galerija je postala v zadnjih letih še zanimivejša, ker smo jo za praznovanje 100-letnice rojstva umetnika Goršeta obnovili ob pomoči Krščanske kulturne zveze, Republike Slovenije, občine Bistrica v Rožu in Urada zveznega kanclerja Republike Avstrije.
Galerija je postala v zadnjih letih zanimiva in zelo pripravna tudi za razne prireditve: za koncerte, nastope Glasbene šole, za predavanja in seveda za otvoritvene prireditve Sveškega slikarskega tedna.
Zaradi odlične akustike in edinstvenega ambienta se nastopajoči zelo dobro počutijo. Zato bomo s takimi prireditvami nadaljevali, in sicer v času, ko ne potrebujemo kurjave.
Umetniško ustvarjanje kiparja Franceta Goršeta je ogledalo njegovega življenja in odsev vsega, kar se je v njem in okoli njega dogajalo. Pot, ki jo je prehodil tako v umetnosti kot v življenju, je bila dolga in morda nikoli ne bo končana.
Njegova umetnost bo v vsakem novem rodu odmevala drugače, in vsaka generacija bo v njej našla nekaj, kar ji odgovarja in kar je novo - tako kot danes mi odkrivamo nove razsežnosti v njegovem predvojnem ustvarjanju.
To pa pomeni, da je njegova umetnost mnogo zapletenejša in tudi skrivnostnejša, kot se dozdeva površnemu opazovalcu. Včasih nas je presenetil z monumentalnimi figurami, ki so vsebovale to, kar odlikuje arhaično plastiko. Potem spet je preusmeril našo pozornost na briljantno malo plastiko, ki je pričevala o življenjski sreči in o tistem veselju, ki navdaja umetnika, ko gnete glino in ustvarja nove forme in predmete.
Ko je oblikoval polnoplastične in presenetljivo elegantne figure s paradoksnim arhaičnim smehljajem, je istočasno že razmišljal o novih materialih in novih možnostih kiparskega izraza. Medtem ko so pisali o njem kot o mojstru lesene plastike, je presenetil z bronastimi figurami; ko so ga ocenjevali v luči njegovega prvega vrhunca predvojnega časa, je začel z oblikovanjem objektov iz žice; ko so ga opisovali kot dediča renesančne - celo baročne plastike - je ustvaril vrsto plastik, ki so najbliže gotskemu umetniškemu izrazu.
Istočasno je presenetil sodobnike s svojo vitalnostjo in mnogostranskostjo, saj ni bil le izvrsten kipar. Ustvaril je tudi izvrstne knjižne ilustracije, ki sodijo k najboljšemu, kar je v Sloveniji na tem področju kdaj nastalo. Ko se je v častitljivi starosti naselil v Svečah na Koroškem, je marsikdo mislil, da se bo podal v zasluženi pokoj. Toda vitalni umetnik ni poznal mirovanja, še naprej je neutrudno ustvarjal in koval načrte.
France Gorše se je rodil 26. septembra 1897 v Sodražici na Dolenjskem v Sloveniji. Svoj študij je začel v Ljubljani, potem je bil vpoklican k vojakom. Do leta 1917 je ostal na italijanski fronti. Leta 1920 je šel v Zagreb, kjer je pet let kasneje - medtem je resno zbolel - zaključil svoj študij kot eden izmed najboljših študentov velikega hrvaškega kiparja Ivana Meštrovića. Njegova življenjska pot, ki je istočasno njegova umetniška, ga je vodila potem iz Ilirske Bistrice preko Trsta in Gorice v Ljubljano, kjer se je prvič stalno naselil. Leta 1931, ko je začel s svojim kiparskim ustvarjanjem v Ljubljani, je bil ustvaril že svoj opus, zastopan je bil na Beneškem bienalu in se je lahko skliceval na vrsto razstav. Do leta 1945, ko je emigriral najprej v Trst, potem leta 1952 v Združene države Amerike, je dosegel v ljubljanskih letih umetniško zrelost in istočasno tisto razvojno stopnjo, s katero je njegovo delo postalo pomemben sestavni del sodobne slovenske umetnosti.
Njegovo življenje, njegovo delo in njegove razstave na treh celinah po letu 1952 pa pričajo o tem, da je zreli "ljubljanski" dobi sledilo novo obdobje iskanja in novega zagona. V pičlih desetih letih je razvil tiste posebne značilnosti v svojem ustvarjanju, ki so se naznanjale že v medvojnem obdobju. Leta 1960 se je potem odločil za resno prelomnico - odkril je možnosti, ki jih ponuja ustvarjalcu žica. Žična plastika ga je vodila tri leta kasneje k odkritju njegovega lastnega materiala, orešca.
To je zmes iz orehove žagovine in specialnega lepila. Potuje po Združenih državah Amerike, dvakrat se celo odpravi v svojo staro domovino. Leta 1969 prejme nagrado za opremo Marijinega svetišča v Washingtonu, papež ga sprejme v privatni avdienci in leto kasneje dobi prvo pomembno naročilo v Sloveniji: križev pot za novo cerkev v Poljani pri Škofji Loki.
Notranji nemir in stalno hrepenenje ga vodita leta 1971 nazaj v Evropo, kjer se naseli v Rimu. Od tam potuje na Koroško in ostane dalj časa v Kortah/Trögern. Ustvari križev pot za Marijino cerkev v Teznem pri Mariboru. Naslednje leto spet dalj časa prebiva v Kortah, leta 1973 pa si ustvari v Svečah/Suetschach v stari Vrbnikovi kmečki hiši poleg farne cerkve atelje in lastno galerijo. Vrt pred svojo hišo preoblikuje z vrsto doprsnih kipov v edinstven kulturni park. Med podobami pomembnih koroških kulturnih ustvarjalcev je tudi njegov avtoportret.
Začetki njegovega ustvarjanja so bili povsem v znamenju Goršetovega učitelja Meštrovića in njegovih pogledov na kiparsko umetnost. Kljub temu je bil sposoben zelo kmalu ubrati samostojno pot. Segel je v zakladnico arhaične grške plastike, bogatil se je ob ekspresionističnem kiparstvu, z velikim zanimanjem je študiral kiparski opus Maillol-a in ljudsko umetnost. Predvsem pa je ohranjal in izpopolnjeval svoj prirojeni čut za plastično formo in za material, ki je postal v njegovih rokah mehka in voljna masa, kateri vdahne svoj stvariteljski bodi!.
Zrelo ljubljansko obdobje je nazadnje ustvarilo številna izvrstna dela, ki so nastala v njegovem ateljeju. Poleg portretov je treba omeniti vsaj nekaj aktov (Eva, Kopalka), razen tega alegorične figure (Pomladni pozdrav) in monumentalne plastike (Nebotičnik, Parlament v Beogradu idr.). Čeprav ga je zanimal predvsem problem oblikovanja iz hloda oz. iz enega kosa materiala - saj je izhajal iz grške arhaike -, je istočasno študiral tudi problem gibanja. Tako so nastale številne izvrstne plastike, npr. dvojni portret plesnega para Pia in Pino Mlakar. Med tem intenzivnim delom, ko je iskal smisel kiparstva in velikih plastik in ko je skušal neustavljivo gibanje prenesti na stalne materiale, je ustvaril tudi vrsto malih plastik, ki so še danes presenetljivo sveže in sodobne. Z nekaj potezami je nakazal ženski lik in mu vdihnil življenje - kljub temu pa ta lik ni naravna slika.
Neznatna skica se je spremenila v mojstrovih rokah v umetnino, saj se skrivajo v kepi gline, ki jo je umetnik obudil k neslutenemu življenju, refleksija, ustvarjalna volja in pogled v prihodnost. Vsako Goršetovo delo nam govori tudi o njegovem prihodnjem ustvarjanju, v njem se da slutiti tudi napoved tega, kar bo še prišlo.
V tej plodni ustvarjalni fazi je dosegel v svoji sakralni plastiki visoko raven poduhovljenosti (Moleča žena, 1937; Madona, 1938; Pieta, 1938 itd.), istočasno pa mu je uspelo uresničiti izredno ravnovesje med polnimi, plastičnimi formami in notranji napetosti njegovih kompozicij, ki so v glavnem posvečene lepoti človeškega telesa.
V gradbeni plastiki (za beograjski parlament, za Nebotičnik v Ljubljani, za poslopje v Celovški cesti v Ljubljani) mu je uspelo na novo odkriti pozabljene principe slovenske gotske in baročne plastike. Predvsem pa je znal posredovati kiparsko formo na neizumetničen, prepričljiv in enostaven način, brez odvečnih detajlov in v enem kosu.
V prvih letih emigracije (po letu 1945) se je posvetil predvsem mali plastiki in risbi.
Ta dela so nastala ob njegovem učiteljevanju na slovenski gimnaziji v Trstu in ob njegovem občasnem sodelovanju s tržaškim radiom. V tem času so se utrjevala spoznanja, ki si jih je pridobil v svojih ljubljanskih letih.
Ob tem trenutku bi verjetno večina ljudi skušala ohraniti doseženo. Kljub temu je zmagala umetnikova volja. V petdesetih letih je pravzaprav začel znova. Preselil se je v Združene države Amerike, ki so ga fascinirale s svojim načinom življenja in s svojo dinamiko. Tukaj je začel sprejemati nove navdihe za ustvarjanje. Tukaj je izdelal osnutke za številne plastike (najprej v žični konstrukciji, potem v orešcu), ki jih lahko imenujemo Goršetovo gotiko. V prvi vrsti mu je šlo za to, da bi dosegel visoko raven poduhovljenosti in breztežnosti.
V sakralnih kompozicijah, ki učinkujejo kot abstraktne podobe, zaslutimo, kako se te podobe dvigujejo v nebo in izgubljajo svojo posvetno težo. Realističnih detajlov skorajda ni več, umetniški jezik je zgoščen v obrisu in v slikovito obdelani površini. Kljub temu so ta dela ohranila vse to, kar je Gorše v plastiki kdaj ustvaril - od spoštljivo in z veliko ročnostjo oblikovanega materiala do čiste forme. Ekspresionistične komponente njegove umetnosti, ki so bile opazne zlasti v njegovih zgodnjih, mladostniških letih, so se tako v njegovi ameriški fazi obudile v poudarjeni obliki.
(Dr. Janez Sedej)
La creazione artistica dello scultore France Gorše
La creazione artistica dello scultore France Gorše rispecchia la sua vita ed è il riflesso di tutto ciò che si svolgeva nel suo intimo e nell′ ambiente che lo circondava.
Ogni generazione perciò troverà nella sua arte una risposta, ed ogni generazione troverà nella sua opera qualcosa di affascinate e di nuovo.
Anche noi oggi scopriamo nelle sue opere antecedenti alla guerra delle nuove dimensioni.
Ciò significa che la sua arte è molto più complessa e misteriosa di quanto appaia allo spettatore superficiale. A volte ci sorprende con figure monumentali che comprendono qualche elemento tipico della plastica arcaica. In altre occasioni fa volgere il nostro sguardo all′affascinante miniatura che rivela la gioia di vivere e quel senso di felicità che commuoveva l′artista quando modellava la creta formando cosìnuove forme e nuovi oggetti. Quando creò le sue figure interamente plastiche e inaspettatamente eleganti con il paradossale sorriso arcaico, rifletteva già su nuovi materiali e nuove possibilità d′espressione scultoria. Nel periodo in cui fu definito maestro dell′arte pastica in legno, ci sorprese con figure in bronzo; quando, nel periodo antecenente il conflitto mondiale, lo ponevano allo zenith dell′espressione artistica, cominciò a modellare le sue opere in filo metallico; quando fu annoverato tra gli eredi del Rinascimento - e persino dell′arte palastica barocca - creò una serie di sculture che si avvicinano di più all′espressione gotica spiritualizzata. Allo stesso tempo stupìi suoi contemporanei con la sua vitalià e varietà. Gorše infatti non era soltanto uno scultore eccelente, ma era apprezzato anche come uno dei migliori illustratori. Quando in età veneranda si stabilìa Sveče/ Suetschach in Carinzia, molti pensarono che volesse ritirarsi a meritato riposo. Invece egli con incredibile vitalità continuò a fare progetti e a lavorare senza stancarsi mai.
Nato il 26 settembre 1897 a Sodražica in Dolenjska France Gorše cominciò i suoi studi a Ljubljana e fu poi, nel 1915, chiamato al servizio militare. Fino al 1917 rimase al fronte italiano.
Nel 1920 si recò a Zagreb/Zagabria dove cinque anni più tardi - nel frattempo superò una grave malattia - terminò gli studi all′ Accademia delle Arti. Fra i maestri che frequentò, fu anche il grande scultore croato Ivan Mestrović, che lo considerava il suo allivo migliore. La vita lo condusse poi a Vreme presso Ilirska Bistrica. Passo poi un breve, ma intenso periodo artistico a Trieste e Gorizia, dove visse dal 1926 al 1930 per tornare nuovamente a Ljubljana, dove, per la prima volta, prese stabile dimora. Quando nel 1931 cominciò la sua produzione scultoria a Ljubljana, aveva ormai creato un opus considerevole, aveva partecipato alla Biennale di Venezia e poteva elencare una serie di mostre personali. Fino al 1945, anno in cui emigrò prima a Trieste e poi nel 1952 negli Stati Uniti, raggiunse la sua maturità artistica, Nelle opere create in questo periodo appreziamo una perfezione stilistica tale da poterle annoverare fra le espressioni più valide dell′arte slovena moderna.
La sua vita, le sue opere e le sue mostre - dopo il 1952 - in tre continenti, testimoniano che al periodo della maturità a Ljubljana seguìun nuovo periodo di ricerca e lo sviluppo di un nuovo stile. In meno di dieci anni sviluppò quelle caratteristiche particolari della sua creatività, che si erano annunciate nel periodo trà le due guerre. Nel 1960 ebbe un idea che gli permise un cambiamento decisivo - scoprìinfatti le possibilità che il filo metallico offre all′artista. L′uso del filo metallico plastificato, fu invece lo spunto che tre anni più tardi portò all′invenzione della massa di noce, cioè una miscela di segatura di legno di noce e di una colla speciale, che per Gorše divenne un materiale di modellamento fra i più preferiti.
Nel 1969 fu premiato per le sculture nel santuario della Madonna a Washington e fu inoltre accolto dal papa in udienza privata. L`anno successivo ricevette il primo incarico importante dalla Slovenia: una "Via crucis" per la chiesa nuova di Poljana presso Škofja Loka.
Nel 1971 un'intima inquietudine ed una profonda nostalgia lo fecero tornare in Europa, e si stabilìa Roma. Nella città eterna però rimaneva per brevi periodi e sempre più spesso partiva per la Carinzia dove si soffermava e lavorava per periodi più o meno lunghi nel paesino montano di Trögen/Korte. In questo periodo creò una "Via crucis" per la chiesa di Santa Maria a Trezno presso Maribor. Nel 1972 visse per un periodo più lungo a Trögen/Korte per trasferirsi poi nel 1973 a Suetschach/ Sveče dove ristrutturò una vecchia casa rurale accanto alla chiesa parrocchiale, trasformandola in abitazione e atelier, aggiungendovi inoltre una galeria personale. Con una serie di busti di illustri Carinziani, protagonisti della cultura slovena, trasformò il prato dinanzi alla sua casa in un parco culturale. A chiudere questa serie di busti stà un suo autoritratto.
Analizzando le opere di France Gorše e evidente che le idee del suo maestro Meštrović determinano in modo decisivo gli inizi della sua produzione scultoria. Ciononostante Gorše ben presto trovò un proprio stile artistico. Si fece ispirare della scultura greca antica, si arrichìdella scultura espressionista, studiò con grande interesse l`opera scultoria di Maillol e l`arte popolare. Ma innanzitutto nutrìe perfezionò la sua sensibilità innata per la forma plastica e per la materia che, tra le sue mani, si trasformava in una massa docile e malmeabile che prontamente rispondeva alla sua volonta creativa.
Il periodo vissuto a Ljubljana, che corrisponde alla sua maturazione artistica, è caratterizzato da una serie di opere affascinanti. Oltre ai ritratti andrebbero ricordati almeno alcuni nudi (Eva, la Bagnante), inoltre figure allegoriche (Saluto alla Primavera) e le plastiche monumentali (per le istituzioni come il Grattaciello a Ljubljana, il parlamento a Belgrado ed altre). Benchè in primo luogo si occupasse del problema del "estrarre" dal blocco - come sappiamo era partito dalla tradizione greca- studiò con molta assiduità pure il problema del movimento. Cosìnacque una serie di opere eccezionali. Basti ricordare il ritratto della coppia danzante Pia e Pino Mlakar. Cercando il senso della scultura nelle plastiche monumentali ed aspirando a fissare il movimento in materie durature, si dedicò creativamente anche alla lavorazione di numerose opere in miniatura, che ancor′oggi attirano la nostraattenzione per la loro freschezza e la loro inaspettata modernità. Occorre inoltre sapere che ogni opera di Gorše accenna già alla scultura seguente, che deve ancora nascere. In ogni suo lavoro si nasconde un annuncio di ciò che seguirà. In quel periodo di grande fecondità creativa Gorše raggiunse un alto livello di spiritualizzazione nelle opere plastiche d′ispirazione sacrale (Donna in preghiera, 1937; Madonna, 1938, Pietà 1938, ed altre), contemporaneamente però ragiunse un′armonia eccenzionale tra la forma a tutto tondo e la tensione interna delle sue composizioni dedicate soprattutto alla belezza del corpo umano. Nella scultura architettonica (per il parlamento a Belgrado, per il Grattacielo a Ljubljana, per l′edificio della Celovška cesta a Ljubljana) riuscìa riscoprire i principi dimenticati della scultura gotica e barocca slovena. Ma innanzi tutto era capace di comunicare la forma scultoria in modo semplice e naturale, fatta in un solo pezzo, lasciando da parte i dettagli superflui.
Negli primi anni dell'emigrazione (dopo il 1945) si dedicò soprat-tutto alla plastica in miniatura e al disegno. Queste opere furono create durante la sua attività didattica al liceo sloveno di Trieste e la sua sporadica collaborazione, come critico d'arte per la emmittente radiofonica slovena di Trieste. In quel periodo si consolidarono le sue esperienze artistiche fatte negli anni a Ljubljana.
Arrivati ad un tale punto di perfezione, molti cercerebbero di mantenere ciò che hanno raggiunto. In Gorše invece vinse la forza creativa. Negli anni 50 si potrebbe parlare di una nuova ripresa della sua forza creativa. Emigrò negli Stati Uniti, che lo affascinavano con il loro "way of life" e la loro dinamicità. Qui cominciò a cercare nuovi impulsi. Progettando parecchie plastiche (prima realizzate con filo metallico, poi in massa di noce), le quali potremmo chiamare "la creazione gotica" di Gorše. Egli era soprattutto interessato a raggiungere un alto livello di spiritualizzazione e di assenza di gravità. Osservando le sue composizioni sacrali che producono l'effetto di apparizioni senza forma, possiamo immaginarci come le figure si sollevano verso il cielo lasciando dietro di sè il peso terrestre. I dettagli realistici mancano quasi del tutto, la lingua artistica è concentrata nel contorno e nella superficie lavorata in modo pittorico. Malgrado ciò le sue opere conservano tutto ciò che Gorše aveva creato nella scultura- dal rispetto della materia modellata e una sensibilità raffinata fino alla forma pura. Nel suo periodo americano le componenti espressioniste della sua arte, che caratterizzavano soprattutto le sue prime opere giovanili, ricomparirono sotto forma accentuata.
Dopo il 1970 continuava a modellare composizioni espressive in massa di noce, allo stesso tempo però cominciò anche altri lavori. Oltre ai busti era interessato soprattutto alle possibilità offerte dalla terracotta, materia poco appariscente, ma molto plastica. Contemporaneamente si dedicava al problema della forma astratta. Perciò non è un caso che proprio in quel periodo nasceva il busto del ignoto operatore culturale carinziano. Tuttavia il suo intermezzo astratto gli portò alcune idee nuove.
Anche questo era un motivo per cui cominciò con grande zelo a scolpire e plasmare composizioni figurali di dimensioni più piccole e a creare le Vie crucis che, a vederle, suscitano subito un sentimento di commozione, nonché l'elaborazione scultoria della cappella Tainach/Tinje in cui, come già altre volte, si manifestò il suo senso innato per considerare anche la realtà architettonica dell'ambiente.
France Gorše, le cui opere si trovano in molte gallerie importanti in tutto il mondo, si realizzò come scultore in una serie infinita di plastiche, abbozzi ed illustrazioni. La sua creazione passò molti stadi che sono presenti nello sviluppo dell'arte europea moderna. Tuttavia era sempre fedele alla sua visione - dell'opera d'arte- che con le sue forme semplici e monumentali testimonia il suo affetto per l'arte slovena, per le forme dell'arte popolare, la plastica europea ed americana di oggi. L'artista era capace di animare le sue opere con le cose migliori che gli venivano offerte dagli stimoli artistici delle sue numerose patrie.
(Dott. Janez Sedej, traduzione dal tedesco in italiano di Marion Pregl)
The artistic creation of the sculptor France Gorše is a mirror of his life and a reflection of everything that has occurred in and around him. The paths he has taken in art and in life have been long and may never really come to an end. His art will give rise to a different echo in each age, and every generation will find something in it suitable to its taste and yet new - as we today discover new dimensions in his pre-war creations. This implies that his art is much more complex and elusive than it might seem at first glance. At times he has surprised us with monumental figures that contain something reminiscent of archaic sculptures.
Then, again, he has directed our attention to brilliant small sculptures that manifest the joy of life and that delight that fills the artist when he kneads clay and creates new forms and objects. As he was forming the solid sculptured, surprisingly elegant figures with paradoxical archaic smiles, he thought about new materials and new possibilities for sculptural expression; while he was being written about as the master of wood sculpture, he surprised his contemporaries with bronze figures; as he was being judged in the light of his first pre-war peak, he began to form his wire sculptures; as he was being classified as the heir of renaissance and even baroque sculpture, he created a series of sculptures that come closest to spiritualized gothic expression. At the same time he surprised his contemporaries with his vitality and versatility, as he is not only an excellent sculptor, but also a creator of book illustrations that belong to the best that were ever made in Slovenia. And even when he settled in Suetschach/Sveče in Carinthia at a venerable age and some thought that he wanted to go into well deserved retirement, he continued making plans and worked untiringly, for the energetic artist knows no rest.
France Gorše was born on September 26th, 1897, in Sodražica in Dolenjska. He began his studies in Ljubljana, but then he was drafted into military service. He was at the Italian front until 1917. In 1920, he went to Zagreb where five years later (he was seriously ill in between) he finished his studies as one of the favorite students of the great Croation sculptor, Ivan Meštrović. His course of life, his artistic life, lead him then from Ilirska Bistrica to Triest and Gorica and then to Ljubljana where he finally settled down for a while. In 1931, as he took up his sculptural work in Ljubljana, he had already produced an impressive collection, he had been represented at the Biennale in Venice and could point to a number of exhibitions. By 1945, before he went to Triest - later, in 1952, he emigrated to the USA- he had reached his artistic maturity in Ljubljana, and at the same time had reached that level in his development that made his work one of the most essential components of modern Slovenian art.
His life, his work, and his exhibitions on three continents after 1952 give evidence, however, that his period of maturation in Ljubljana was followed by a new one of searching and new impetus. In less than ten years he developed those special characteristics in his work that were already indicated in the period between the wars. In 1960, he reached a decisive turning-point: he discovered the possibilities that are offered to the artist by wire. Wire sculptures again led him three years later to the discovery of his own material, nut base, that is, a mixture of walnut sawdust and a special glue. He traveled throughout the USA and twice he even visited his home country. In 1969, he was distinguished for his sculptoral designs in the Basilica of Our Lady in Washington, D. C., the Pope received him in a private audience, and, the year after, he got his first important contract in Slovenia, the Way of the Cross for the new church in Poljana near Škofja Loka.
Inner unrest and unswerving longing led him back to Europe. In 1971, where he settled in Rome. From there he traveled to Carinthia and stayed for a time in Trögern/Korte. He designed a Way of the Cross for the church of our Lady in Tezno near Maribor. The next year again he stayed for a while in Trögern/Korte and in 1973 he set up his own art gallery and his studio in an old farm-house next to the parish church in Suetschach/Sveče. In his front garden he designed an original cultural park using a collection of portrait busts. Amidst these portrayals of important Carinthian artists is also his self-portrait.
The beginnings of his creativity were entirely determined by the views of his teacher, Meštrović, on the art of sculpture. Nevertheless, he managed to find his own way very quickly. He reached into the treasury of ancient Greek sculpture, enriched his ideas with expressionistic sculpture, and studied with great interest the sculptural works of Maillol and folk art. Above all, he cultivated and supplemented his natural feeling for the sculptured form and for the material that in his hands would become a willing and supple mass onto which he inspired his creative development. His phase of maturation in Ljubljana brought forth, in the end, a collection of excellent work done in his studio. Besides the portraits, at least a few other productions should be mentioned, for example "Eva" and "The Bathers", as well as allegorical figures, such as "Greetings to Spring", and monumental sculptures, such as the one for the first tall building in Ljubljana and one for the Parliament in Belgrade. Although primarily the problem of creating forms from a block of material engaged his interest - he began with the ancient Greeks- at the same time he also studied the problem of movement. This resulted in a number of outstanding sculptures. Only the double portrait of the dancers Pia and Pino Mlakar are noted here. During the intensive work he did in order to find the meaning of sculpture in large works and to strive to banish unchecked movement in stationary material, he created an even greater number of small sculptures that even today are surprisingly fresh and modern. With a few strokes he suggested a female form and gave it life - but it is not at all a copy of nature. An insignificant sketch thus becomes, in the hand of the master, a work of art, s there is much intensive reflection, creative willpower, and a view of the future concealed in the clump of clay that is called to unexpected life. Each piece of Gorše's work also speaks of his future creativity, in each an announcement is hidden of what is to come.
In this very fertile period of creativity, he attained a high degree of spiritualization in the sacral sculptures ("The Praying Woman", 1937; "Madonna", 1938; "Pieta", 1938; etc.). At the same time, however, he attained an unusual balance between the full sculptured form and the inner tension in his compositions which are primarily devoted to the beauty of the human body. In his commercial sculptures for public buildings (the Parliament in Belgrade, the one in Ljubljana mentioned above, as well as one in the Celovška Street in Ljubljana) he managed a new discovery of forgotten principles of Slovenian gothic and baroque sculptures. Above all, however, he was able to communicate the sculptured form in an unaffected, convincingly simple manner, without unnecessary detail and in one piece.
In the first years of his emigration (after 1945), he devoted himself above all to small sculptures and drawings. These works emerged during his years of teaching in the Slovenian high school in Triest, and his occasional work for Triest Radio. In this period the knowledge that he had gained in his years in Ljubljana was consolidated. At that point, most people would probably try to keep what they have already attained. However, with him, his artistic determination triumphed. In the 1950Ôs, he actually began all over again. He went to the USA, where the way of life and dynamism fascinated him. Here he began to take up new impulses. Here he also designed a larger number of sculptures, first in wire construction, later in walnutistic, that we can call Gorše's Gothic. It was most important to him to attain a high degree of spirituality and weightlessness. In his sacral compositions, that seem to be abstract visions, we get the feeling that the objects rise up to heaven and lose their earthly weight. There are few realistic details, artistic language is condensed in the contours and in the picturesquely worked surfaces. And still the works verify everything Gorše created in sculpture - from material formed with awe and subtlety, up to pure form. The expressionistic components of his art, most felt in his early works, evolved to new life in pointed form in his American phase.
After 1970, he still made expressive compositions from walnutistic, at the same time, however, he took up other tasks. Besides portraits, he was most interested in the possibilities that the inconspicuous, but nevertheless picturesque, terracotta offers the artist, and also in the problem of abstract form. Thus it is no coincidence that it was exactly in this peroid that the rather ironically-set portrait of the unknown Carinthian artist emerged, as well as that abstract but incredibly expressive copper sculpture, that summarized all of the interests of the artist of that time. This abstract intermezzo gave him new impulses. Perhaps that is why he began to form smaller figures with great eagerness - the shocking Way of the Cross as well as the sculptural arrangements in the chapel in Tainach/Tinje, where, as so often before, his natural feelings for the inclusion of architectural factor broke through.
France Gorše, whose works are found in many important art galleries in the world, could realize himself as a sculptor through an immense series of sculptures, sketches, and illustrations. In his creations, he went through many stages which are generally assumed to be stages in the development of modern European art. However, he remained true to his visions - the work of art that, in its monumentally simple forms, bears witness to its connection to Slovenian art, to forms of folk art, and to contemporary European and American sculpture. The artist was able to inspire in his work the best that his many home countries gave him. (Dr. Janez Sedej, translated from the German by Maureen Langer-Devine)
The artistic creation of the sculptor France Gorše is a mirror of his life and a reflection of everything that has occurred in and around him. The paths he has taken in art and in life have been long and may never really come to an end. His art will give rise to a different echo in each age, and every generation will find something in it suitable to its taste and yet new - as we today discover new dimensions in his pre-war creations. This implies that his art is much more complex and elusive than it might seem at first glance. At times he has surprised us with monumental figures that contain something reminiscent of archaic sculptures.
Then, again, he has directed our attention to brilliant small sculptures that manifest the joy of life and that delight that fills the artist when he kneads clay and creates new forms and objects. As he was forming the solid sculptured, surprisingly elegant figures with paradoxical archaic smiles, he thought about new materials and new possibilities for sculptural expression; while he was being written about as the master of wood sculpture, he surprised his contemporaries with bronze figures; as he was being judged in the light of his first pre-war peak, he began to form his wire sculptures; as he was being classified as the heir of renaissance and even baroque sculpture, he created a series of sculptures that come closest to spiritualized gothic expression. At the same time he surprised his contemporaries with his vitality and versatility, as he is not only an excellent sculptor, but also a creator of book illustrations that belong to the best that were ever made in Slovenia. And even when he settled in Suetschach/Sveče in Carinthia at a venerable age and some thought that he wanted to go into well deserved retirement, he continued making plans and worked untiringly, for the energetic artist knows no rest.
France Gorše was born on September 26th, 1897, in Sodražica in Dolenjska. He began his studies in Ljubljana, but then he was drafted into military service. He was at the Italian front until 1917. In 1920, he went to Zagreb where five years later (he was seriously ill in between) he finished his studies as one of the favorite students of the great Croation sculptor, Ivan Meštrović. His course of life, his artistic life, lead him then from Ilirska Bistrica to Triest and Gorica and then to Ljubljana where he finally settled down for a while. In 1931, as he took up his sculptural work in Ljubljana, he had already produced an impressive collection, he had been represented at the Biennale in Venice and could point to a number of exhibitions. By 1945, before he went to Triest - later, in 1952, he emigrated to the USA- he had reached his artistic maturity in Ljubljana, and at the same time had reached that level in his development that made his work one of the most essential components of modern Slovenian art.
His life, his work, and his exhibitions on three continents after 1952 give evidence, however, that his period of maturation in Ljubljana was followed by a new one of searching and new impetus. In less than ten years he developed those special characteristics in his work that were already indicated in the period between the wars. In 1960, he reached a decisive turning-point: he discovered the possibilities that are offered to the artist by wire. Wire sculptures again led him three years later to the discovery of his own material, nut base, that is, a mixture of walnut sawdust and a special glue. He traveled throughout the USA and twice he even visited his home country. In 1969, he was distinguished for his sculptoral designs in the Basilica of Our Lady in Washington, D. C., the Pope received him in a private audience, and, the year after, he got his first important contract in Slovenia, the Way of the Cross for the new church in Poljana near Škofja Loka.
Inner unrest and unswerving longing led him back to Europe. In 1971, where he settled in Rome. From there he traveled to Carinthia and stayed for a time in Trögern/Korte. He designed a Way of the Cross for the church of our Lady in Tezno near Maribor. The next year again he stayed for a while in Trögern/Korte and in 1973 he set up his own art gallery and his studio in an old farm-house next to the parish church in Suetschach/Sveče. In his front garden he designed an original cultural park using a collection of portrait busts. Amidst these portrayals of important Carinthian artists is also his self-portrait.
The beginnings of his creativity were entirely determined by the views of his teacher, Meštrović, on the art of sculpture. Nevertheless, he managed to find his own way very quickly. He reached into the treasury of ancient Greek sculpture, enriched his ideas with expressionistic sculpture, and studied with great interest the sculptural works of Maillol and folk art. Above all, he cultivated and supplemented his natural feeling for the sculptured form and for the material that in his hands would become a willing and supple mass onto which he inspired his creative development. His phase of maturation in Ljubljana brought forth, in the end, a collection of excellent work done in his studio. Besides the portraits, at least a few other productions should be mentioned, for example "Eva" and "The Bathers", as well as allegorical figures, such as "Greetings to Spring", and monumental sculptures, such as the one for the first tall building in Ljubljana and one for the Parliament in Belgrade. Although primarily the problem of creating forms from a block of material engaged his interest - he began with the ancient Greeks- at the same time he also studied the problem of movement. This resulted in a number of outstanding sculptures. Only the double portrait of the dancers Pia and Pino Mlakar are noted here. During the intensive work he did in order to find the meaning of sculpture in large works and to strive to banish unchecked movement in stationary material, he created an even greater number of small sculptures that even today are surprisingly fresh and modern. With a few strokes he suggested a female form and gave it life - but it is not at all a copy of nature. An insignificant sketch thus becomes, in the hand of the master, a work of art, s there is much intensive reflection, creative willpower, and a view of the future concealed in the clump of clay that is called to unexpected life. Each piece of Gorše's work also speaks of his future creativity, in each an announcement is hidden of what is to come.
In this very fertile period of creativity, he attained a high degree of spiritualization in the sacral sculptures ("The Praying Woman", 1937; "Madonna", 1938; "Pieta", 1938; etc.). At the same time, however, he attained an unusual balance between the full sculptured form and the inner tension in his compositions which are primarily devoted to the beauty of the human body. In his commercial sculptures for public buildings (the Parliament in Belgrade, the one in Ljubljana mentioned above, as well as one in the Celovška Street in Ljubljana) he managed a new discovery of forgotten principles of Slovenian gothic and baroque sculptures. Above all, however, he was able to communicate the sculptured form in an unaffected, convincingly simple manner, without unnecessary detail and in one piece.
In the first years of his emigration (after 1945), he devoted himself above all to small sculptures and drawings. These works emerged during his years of teaching in the Slovenian high school in Triest, and his occasional work for Triest Radio. In this period the knowledge that he had gained in his years in Ljubljana was consolidated. At that point, most people would probably try to keep what they have already attained. However, with him, his artistic determination triumphed. In the 1950Ôs, he actually began all over again. He went to the USA, where the way of life and dynamism fascinated him. Here he began to take up new impulses. Here he also designed a larger number of sculptures, first in wire construction, later in walnutistic, that we can call Gorše's Gothic. It was most important to him to attain a high degree of spirituality and weightlessness. In his sacral compositions, that seem to be abstract visions, we get the feeling that the objects rise up to heaven and lose their earthly weight. There are few realistic details, artistic language is condensed in the contours and in the picturesquely worked surfaces. And still the works verify everything Gorše created in sculpture - from material formed with awe and subtlety, up to pure form. The expressionistic components of his art, most felt in his early works, evolved to new life in pointed form in his American phase.
After 1970, he still made expressive compositions from walnutistic, at the same time, however, he took up other tasks. Besides portraits, he was most interested in the possibilities that the inconspicuous, but nevertheless picturesque, terracotta offers the artist, and also in the problem of abstract form. Thus it is no coincidence that it was exactly in this peroid that the rather ironically-set portrait of the unknown Carinthian artist emerged, as well as that abstract but incredibly expressive copper sculpture, that summarized all of the interests of the artist of that time. This abstract intermezzo gave him new impulses. Perhaps that is why he began to form smaller figures with great eagerness - the shocking Way of the Cross as well as the sculptural arrangements in the chapel in Tainach/Tinje, where, as so often before, his natural feelings for the inclusion of architectural factor broke through.
France Gorše, whose works are found in many important art galleries in the world, could realize himself as a sculptor through an immense series of sculptures, sketches, and illustrations. In his creations, he went through many stages which are generally assumed to be stages in the development of modern European art. However, he remained true to his visions - the work of art that, in its monumentally simple forms, bears witness to its connection to Slovenian art, to forms of folk art, and to contemporary European and American sculpture. The artist was able to inspire in his work the best that his many home countries gave him. (Dr. Janez Sedej, translated from the German by Maureen Langer-Devine)
