(Ljubljana, 12.1.1910 - Bariloče, 1.3.1991)
Bara Remec was a bold and independent artist who spent most of her life in Argentina. She began her studies in painting at the Academy in Zagreb. She graduated there in 1935. After finishing her education, she stayed in the Croatian capital for a short time, teaching art classes there, and then returned to Ljubljana.
As a young and aspiring artist, she initially struggled with painting portraits, landscapes, and also depicted some still lifes. At that time, she mainly strove for a realistic style of depiction with some post-impressionist elements. In addition to painting with oil technique, she soon established herself as an illustrator. She prepared numerous pictorial inserts for the magazine Dom in Svet. Her editor was her sister's husband, who provided the artist with a source of income.
At the beginning of her career, Bara Remec followed the visual language of Miha Maleš. She followed him with great admiration, yet her works were more subdued in style. At the end of World War II, she moved to Austria. There she became acquainted with refugee camps, where she witnessed firsthand the horror that people endured during the war. Her journey also took her to Italy, where she settled in Rome. In the Eternal City, she mainly focused on painting. She also produced some illustrations for poems, which enabled her to better cope with her stay in the Italian capital. Already at this time, she produced some images that deal with the pain of being a refugee and the horrors of war. The year 1947 was a turning point for the artist.
She went to Argentina, where she herself faced exile. The first years were extremely difficult for the artist, as she had to provide for the basic necessities of life in a foreign and unknown world. She soon set up her own home in Bariloche, near the Andes, where she had a large painting studio. She became a member of the cultural section of the Slovenian Cultural Action. Within this, an art school was also established, which she founded herself for the purpose of educating young artists. The experience in Buenos Aires did not leave a positive mark on the artist. She traveled several times to the native Indians, where she painted authentic people on untouched land and their connection with nature. She was an independent artist, which was also expressed in her paintings. She most often used the oil on canvas technique, but she also painted with watercolors. From time to time, the artist also tried her hand at creating small sculptures, but she primarily focused on painting. Her images found a place in the literary works of numerous Slovenian writers.
During her career, she participated in several group exhibitions, where she presented her works. Her first was in 1939 at the Jakopič Pavilion. There she exhibited several oil paintings. She also remained active in Buenos Aires, where she exhibited in local galleries and the Slovenian society. Her art was also recognized in Denmark, the USA and Canada. She was such an unusual personality that a film was even made about her life between 1998 and 2000.
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Bara Remec je bila drzna in samosvoja likovna umetnica, ki je večino svojega življenja preživela v Argentini. Študij slikarstva je pričela na Akademiji v Zagrebu. Tam je leta 1935 tudi diplomirala. Po koncu izobraževanja je za kratek čas še ostala v hrvaški prestolnici, saj je tam poučevala likovni pouk, nato pa se je vrnila nazaj v Ljubljano.
Kot mlada in nadobudna umetnica se je sprva spopadla s slikanjem portretov, krajine, nekaj pa je upodobila tudi tihožitji. Tedaj je stremela predvsem k realističnemu načinu upodabljanja z nekaj postimpresionističnimi vložki. Poleg slikanja z oljno tehniko, se je kmalu uveljavila tudi kot ilustratorka. Pripravila je številne slikovne vložke za revijo Dom in Svet. Njen urednik je bil sestrin mož, ki je umetnici priskrbel vir zaslužka.
Na začetku kariere je Bara Remec sledila likovni govorici Mihe Maleša. Spremljala ga je z velikim občudovanjem, pa vendar so bila njena dela bolj umirjena v potezi. Konec druge svetovne vojne se je preselila v Avstrijo. Tam se je seznanila z begunskimi taborišči, kjer se je na lastne oči seznanila z grozo, ki so jo ljudje pretrpeli v vojni. Pot jo je zanesla še proti Italiji, kjer se je ustalila v Rimu. V večnem mestu se je ukvarjala predvsem s slikarstvom. Izdelala je tudi nekaj ilustracij za pesnitve, ki so ji omogočili boljše bivanje v italijanski prestolnici. Že v tem času je izdelala nekaj podob, ki obravnavajo bolečino begunstva in grozote vojne. Leto 1947 je bilo za umetnico prelomno.
Odpravila se je v Argentino, kjer se je sama spopadla z izgnanstvom. Prva leta so bila za umetnico izredno težka, saj si je morala zagotoviti osnovne življenske potrebe v tujem in nepoznanem svetu. Kmalu si je uredila svoj dom v Bariločah, blizu Andov, kjer je imela velik slikarski atelje. Postala je članica kulturnega odseka Slovenske kulturne akcije. V okviru te je nastala tudi likovna šola, ki jo je v namen izobraževanja mladih umetnikov ustanovila sama. Izkušnja v Buenos Airesu na umetnico ni pustila pozitivnega pečata. Večkrat se je odpravila k indijanskim domorodcem, kjer je slikala pristnega človeka na neokrnjeni zemlji in njegova povezanost z naravo. Bila je samosvoja umetnica, kar se je izrazilo tudi v slikah. Največkrat je posegla po tehniki olja na platno, slikala pa je tudi z akvareli. Od časa do časa se je umetnica preizkusila tudi v oblikovanju male plastike, vendar se je prvenstveno osredotočila na slikanje. Njene podobe so našle mesto v literarnih delih številnih slovenskih pisateljev.
Tekom svoje kariere se je večkrat udeležila skupinskih razstav, na katerih je predstavila svoja dela. Njena prva je bila leta 1939 v Jakopičevem paviljonu. Tam je razstavila kar nekaj oljnih slik. Dejavna je ostala tudi v Buenos Airesu, kjer je razstavljala v okviru lokalnih galerij pa tudi slovenskega društva. Z njeno umetnostjo so se seznanili tudi na Danskem, v ZDA in v Kanadi. Bila je tako nenavadna osebnost, da so o njenem življenju med 1998 in 2000 celo posneli tudi film.
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
SOURCES/VIRI:
- Sarah DOLINŠEK, s. v. Ilustracija, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, pp. 92-100.
- Franci KONCILIJA, Zamolčana slikarka Bara Remec (1910-1991), https://kd-severinsali.si/zanimivosti/zamolcana-slikarka-bara-remec-1910-1991 (23.1.2025).
- Uredništvo, Pred 100 leti se je rodila Bara Remec, Radio Ognjišče, 12.1.2010, https://radio.ognjisce.si/sl/102/aktualno/530/ (23.5.2025).
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