(Trbovlje, 26.4.1924 - Ljubljana, 12.4.2015)
Jože Ciuha was one of the leading representatives of Slovenian painting and graphic art in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He was already creating at a young age, until he was forcibly mobilised into the German army during World War II. During the Normandy landings, he managed to escape to the Allies. At that time, he began to cooperate with the NOB as their propagandist and war correspondent. During this time, Ciuha mainly sketched and drew, which is why he was included among the young Slovenian illustrators who continued the work of their predecessors in the post-war period.
In 1945, he enrolled at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, where he stayed for only a short time. Soon after, he was accepted to study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. There, he graduated in 1952 under Slavko Pengov. During his studies, he embarked on numerous trips to Macedonia, which left a strong mark on his early production. This can be seen especially in the monumental figural art and traditional motifs that he became acquainted with in the local space. He was more interested in flatness than in a three-dimensional approach. His compositions became solemn and timeless. During the 1950s, he moved away from folklore and devoted himself mainly to regional motifs. At that time, he combined modernist tendencies with local tradition.
In the 1960s, he was mainly interested in human alienation as a result of World War II and his own experiences. Since then, his painting style has featured intense shades of acrylic and oil paints. His imaginative world was filled with fantastic figures that he deformed beyond recognition. He created several series depicting icons, brides, monkeys and insects. He also incorporated artistically designed letters into the visual space. Not only the expedition to Macedonia, but also numerous other trips to Europe, America and Asia left a strong mark on him, which he later transferred to the visual arts. He was primarily interested in oddities and cultural customs that he could not become acquainted with in his home environment. Jože Ciuha's oeuvre is dominated by oils and prints, with which the artist introduced himself to a global audience. He occasionally tried his hand at other media, for example mosaics. He created one for the building of the former People's Assembly.
His legacy also includes tapestries that he designed for Cankarjev dom. In 1981, he also undertook the set design for Zajč's Mlada Breda. Ciuha was not only an excellent artist, but also contributed to the education of young people with his efforts. In the late 1990s, he worked as an art teacher in Venice. In Slovenia, he is considered one of the initiators who established the Ljubljana School of Graphic Arts. Together with other Slovenian artists, he also founded Grupa 69. It was formed at a group exhibition in Bled, in order for our artists to connect internationally with foreign ones without any political background. He participated in several group and solo exhibitions. He received numerous awards for his works. The most important are the Prešeren Award, in 1968, and the Hinko Smrekar Award, which he was awarded a year before his death.
---
Jože Ciuha je bil eden izmed vodilnih predstavnikov slovenskega slikarstva in grafike v drugi polovici 20. in v začetku 21. stoletja. Ustvarjal je že v mladih letih, dokler ga v 2. svetovni vojni niso prisilno mobilizirali v nemško vojsko. Med izkrcanjem v Normandiji je uspel pobegniti k zaveznikom. Takrat je začel sodelovati z NOB kot njihov propagandist in vojni dopisnik. V tem času je Ciuha predvsem skicira in risal, zato so ga uvrstili med mlade slovenske ilustratorje, ki so v povojnem času nadaljevali z delom predhodnikov.
Leta 1945 se je vpisal na Filozofsko fakulteto v Ljubljani, kjer je ostal le kratek čas. Hitro za tem so ga sprejeli na študij slikarstva na Akademijo za upodabljajočo umetnost. Tam je leta 1952 pri Slavku Pengovu tudi diplomiral. V času študija se je podal na številna potovanja po Makedoniji, ki so pustila močan pečat na njegovo zgodnjo produkcijo. To je mogoče opaziti predvsem v monumentalni figuraliki in tradicionalnih motivih, s katerimi se je seznanil v tamkajšnjem prostoru. Bolj kot tridimenzionalni pristop ga je zanimala ploskovitost. Njegove kompozicije so postale svečane in brezčasne. Tekom petdesetih let se je oddaljil od folklore in se posvetil predvsem regionalnim motivom. Tedaj je združeval modernistične težnje z domačo tradicijo.
V 60ih letih ga je zanimala predvsem odtujenost človeka kot posledica 2. svetovne vojne in lastnih izkušenj. Od takrat so v njegovi slikarski maniri prisotni intenzivni odtenki akrilnih in oljnih barv. Njegov domišljijski svet so napolnile fantastične figure, ki jih je deformiral do neprepoznavnosti. Izdelal je več serij, ki prikazujejo ikone, neveste, opice in insekte. V likovni prostor je vkomponiral tudi umetniško oblikovan črke. Ne le odprava v Makedonijo ampak tudi številna druga potovanja po Evropi, Ameriki in Aziji so nanj pustila močno sled, ki jo je kasneje prenesel v likovni medij. Zanimal se je predvsem za nenavadnosti in kulturne običaje, s katerimi se ni mogel seznaniti v domačem okolju. V opusu Jožeta Ciuhe dominirajo predvsem olja in grafike, s katerimi se je umetnik predstavil svetovnemu občinstvu. Občasno se je preizkusil tudi v drugih medijih npr. v mozaiku. Izdelal ga je za poslopje nekdanje Ljudske skupščine.
Prav tako so v njegovi zapuščini prisotne tapiserije, ki jih je zasnoval za Cankarjev dom. Leta 1981 se je lotil tudi scenografije za Zajčevo Mlado bredo. Ciuha ni bil zgolj odličen umetnik ampak je s svojim prizadevanjem pripomogel k izobraževanju mladih. Konec 90ih let je opravljal delo likovnega pedagoga v Benetkah. Pri nas velja za enega od pobudnikov, ki so vzpostavili Ljubljansko grafično šolo. Skupaj z drugimi slovenskimi umetnik je osnoval tudi Grupo 69. Oblikovala se je na skupinski razstavi na Bledu, da bi se naši umetniki mednarodno povezovali s tujimi brez slehernega političnega ozadja. Sodeloval je na več skupinskih in samostojnih razstavah. Za svoja dela je prejel številne nagrade. Najbolj pomembni sta Prešernova nagrada, leta 1968, in nagrada Hinka Smrekarja, ko so mu jo podelili leto pred smrtjo.
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:
Jadranka LJUBIČIĆ, s. v. Grupa 69, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, Ljubljana 2009, pp. 80-83.
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Ciuha Jože, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 377.
Katarina MOHAR, s. v. Ciuha, Jože (1924-2015), Novi slovenski biografski leksikon, 4 zv. Ur. Barbara Šterbenc Svetina et al., Ljubljana 2022, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi1023610/ (26.8.2024).
Redakcija Pojmovnika slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, s. v. Regionalizem, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, Ljubljana 2009, pp. 235-239.
Nena ŠKERLJ, Razstava Labirint časa kot spoznavno estetski vrtinec, Borec, LXVI/706-708, 2014, pp. 194–209.
Marjan ZADNIKAR, s. v. Ciuha, Jože, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 1, Zagreb 1959, p. 635.
For all additional information regarding the purchase and other services, you can contact us by phone or e-mail: info@portaalpina-gallery.com
We will try to answer you as soon as possible.