When we stand before a painting, sculpture or print we
surrender ourselves to their expressive address and enter into a silent
dialogue with their creators. We re-experience their feelings, we read mental
backgrounds, or we try to find out how a certain work of art was coming into
existence. The exhibits assembled in the permanent collection of the National
Gallery of Slovenia are a rich source of creative inspiration. For this reason,
in addition to guided tours and lectures for visitors, we have been organizing
various creative courses for a number of years. The courses are meant to invite
visitors to make drawings and sculptures in front of the exhibits in the
collection or to test their abilities in printmaking. The present exhibition
shows the works of participants to four courses that were held in the National
Gallery from February to May 2019. We invite you to join us in the autumn
courses which will start in September.
Drawing course for beginners
Before
the beginning of individual drawing exercises the ten participants received
instructions for drawing from imagination. They drew vertical and horizontal
sections of bodies, thus acquiring a
sense of spatial perception of bodies. By drawing from imagination they avoided
copying and imitation and acquired better and lasting drawing skill.
Drawing and painting course: Mastering a
portrait
The
eleven participants delved into the secrets of nineteenth-century painting
principles and techniques. They learned about study steps that had been
established by Parisian masters, such as painters Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon
Gérôme, the leading masters in the upgrading process of the study system in the
painting academies of the time. Each individual trained their skill of drawing
through numerous adapted exercises which were accompanied by the theacher's
lectures and demonstrations. Their final project was to make a copy of Ivana
Kobilca's painting Girl in an Armchairwhich they executed in a multi-layer technique with oil paints.
Intaglio printmaking techniques course
The eight participants of the course were trained in
different intaglio printmaking techniques: drypoint, etching, aquatint,
reservage, vernis-mou. The intaglio technique also enabled them to vary
different techniques. They prepared matrixes themselves and learned how to make
quality graphic impressions. The prints they made evidence their acquired
technical skill and the development of their own artistic idiom. Each
participant expressed their own linear lyricism, selected composition, and
colour or tone mood.
Clay
sculpture course
The eleven participants modelled clay in a
relaxed and friendly atmosphere. They learned about the principles of modelling
clay, different paints for colouring clay, glazes. They started by making a
relief, then a vessel, mask, hollow sphere, animal figure, human figure,
portrait, etc. They found inspiration for their work in the wonderful sculpture
collection of the National Gallery of Slovenia.
Mentor of Drawing course
Tadej Tozon
Mentor of Drawing and panting course
Nik Anikis Skušek
Mentor of Drawing and Intaglio printmaking courses
Tina Mohorović
Mentor of Clay sculpture course
Sabina Mattersdorfer
Coordination of the exhibition
Tjaša Debeljak, Kristina Preininger, Živa Rogelj
Preparation of works
Tina Buh
Translated by
Alenka Klemenc
21 June – 12 July 2019
National Gallery of Slovenia
Prešernova 24
1000 Ljubljana