(Zamostec, 26.9.1897 - Golnik, 2.8.1986)
France Gorše was one of the most important Slovenian sculptors of the 20th century, known for his unique approach to modeling. His style combined traditional approaches to sculptural practice with a modern view of art. Gorše was interested in visual design from an early age. After finishing elementary school, he enrolled in the Secondary School of Design, and later the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. His career path took him to the Zagreb Academy, where he successfully completed his art studies. He continued his education in sculpture with Ivan Meštrović. This internationally renowned Croatian artist had a strong influence on the young Gorše until the 1930s. During this time, he joined the Trojica group, where he created together with Kos and Maleš.
At the end of the war in 1945, he emigrated to Trieste. Later, Gorše traveled to the United States of America, where he settled in Cleveland. In his oeuvre, we find mainly portraits that follow Meštrović's expression. He created them in stone and bronze. In the early period of his artistic creation, Gorše devoted himself mainly to the study of the human body. The first peculiarities appeared in his sculptures, which he shaped into a characteristic artistic style throughout his artistic career. One of these was the emphasized characterization of people and emotionality, which contributed to the expressiveness of the depicted figures. Gorše was extremely skilled in modeling. In his work, he mainly used clay, which, due to technical possibilities, allowed him to best demonstrate his skills. His statues are mostly realistic, as he knew the laws of human anatomy well. At the same time, there is some stylization in them. Gorše's sculptures are often dynamic, especially those that encompass the human interior and spiritual world. He created a series of portraits of important people, allegories, religious motifs, and he also transferred genre to sculpture.
Gorše's style was torn between realism and abstraction, with the help of which he created interesting counterpoints to realistic images from nature. Between 1952 and 1971, he traveled to America, where he lived and worked in Cleveland. He worked for Slovenian expatriates who commissioned sculptures from the artist. After arriving in his homeland, he settled in Sveče in Koroškem. He arranged a studio and a space for a permanent collection of his sculptures. There, portraits of important Slovenian-Carinthian political figures can still be found today, and some sculptures are also on display in the Božidar Jakac Gallery. During his lifetime, he presented his works at numerous solo and group exhibitions, both at home and abroad. The most important of these were in Ljubljana, Maribor, Vienna and Berlin. He was considered a respected artist among critics and art connoisseurs. He received numerous awards for his work. He was also active as a teacher and mentor to younger generations of Slovenian artists.
In addition to numerous portraits, Gorše's oeuvre includes several sculptures that touch on life and death and other spiritual aspects of an individual's life. They are distinguished by their distinct symbolism and innovative design. He is one of the sculptors who is a link between older practice and a new touch, as he went beyond mere decorativeness to modernist ideals in his artistic language. France Gorše thus remained an unforgettable figure in Slovenian fine art, and his oeuvre still inspires many artists and art lovers today.
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France Gorše je bil eden izmed najpomembnejših slovenskih kiparjev 20. stoletja, ki ga poznamo po umetnikovem edinstvenem pristopu k modeliranju. V slogu je združil tradicionalne pristope kiparske prakse z modernim pogledom k umetnosti. Likovno snovanje je Goršeta zanimalo že od malih nog. Po končani osnovni šoli se je vpisal na sredno šolo za oblikovanje, kasneje pa še na Akademijo za likovno umetnost v Ljubljani. Karierna pot ga je popeljala še proti zagrebški akademiji, kjer je študij umetnosti tudi uspešno zaključil. Izobraževanje v kiparski smeri je nadaljeval pri Ivanu Meštroviču. Ta mednarodno uveljavljen hrvaški umetnik je do tridesetih let 20. stoletja močno vplival na mladega Goršeta. V tem času se je pridružil skupini Trojica, kjer je ustvarjal skupaj s Kosom in Malešem.
Ob koncu vojne 1945 je emigriral v Trst. Kasneje je Gorše odpotoval v Združene države Amerike, kjer se je ustalil v Clevelandu. V njegovem opusu najdemo predvsem portrete, ki sledijo Meštrovićevemu izrazu. Ustvarjal jih je v kamnu in bronu. V zgodnjem obdobju likovnega snovanja se je Gorše posvetil predvsem študiju človeškega telesa. V njegovih skulpturah so se pojavile prve posebnosti, ki jih je skozi umetnostno kariero oblikoval v značilen umetnostni slog. Ena izmed teh je bila poudarjena karakterizacija oseb in čustvenost, ki sta pripomogli k izraznosti upodobljenih figur. Gorše je bil izjemno spreten v modeliranju. Pri delu je uporabljal predvsem glino, ki mu je zaradi tehničnih možnosti omogočila, da so na plano lahko kar najbolje prišle njegove spretnosti. Njegovi kipi so večinoma realistični, saj je dobro poznal zakonitosti človeške anatomije. Hkrati je v njih nekoliko stilizacije. Goršetove skulpture so pogosto dinamične, predvsem tiste, ki obsegajo človekovo notranjost in duhovni svet. Ustvaril je vrsto portretov pomembnežev, alegorij, verskih motivov, v kiparstvo pa je prenesel tudi žanr.
Gorše je bil v slogu razpet med realizem in abstrakcijo, s pomočjo katere je ustvaril zanimiva proti polja realnim podobam iz narave. Med 1952 in 1971 je odpotoval v Ameriko, kjer je živel in deloval v Clevelandu. Delal je za slovenske zdomce, ki so pri umetniku naročali skulpture. Po prihodu v domovino se je naselil v Svečah na Koroškem. Uredil si je atelje in prostor za stalno zbirko njegove plastike. Tam še danes najdemo portrete pomembnih slovensko-koroških političnih osebnosti, nekaj kipov pa je na ogled tudi v Galeriji Božidarja Jakca. S svojimi deli se je za čas življenja predstavil na številnih samostojnih in skupinskih razstavah, doma in v tujini. Najpomembnejše izmed teh so bile v Ljubljani, Mariboru, na Dunaju in v Berlinu. Veljal je za cenjenega umetnika med kritiki in poznavalci umetnosti. Za svoje delo je prejel številna priznanja. Bil je aktiven tudi kot učitelj in mentor mlajših generacij slovenskih umetnikov.
Poleg številnih portretov je v Goršetovem opusu prisotnih nekaj skulptur s katerimi se je dotaknil življenja in smrti ter drugih duhovnih vidikov v življenju posameznika. Odlikuje jih izrazita simbolika ter inovativnost v oblikovanju. Je eden izmed kiparjev, ki je vez med starejšo prakso in novim pridihom, saj je šel v svoji likovni govorici onkraj zgolj dekorativnosti k modernističnim idealom. France Gorše je tako ostal nepozaben lik v slovenski likovni umetnosti, njegov opus pa še danes navdihuje mnoge umetnike in ljubitelje umetnosti.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
SOURCES/VIRI:
- Mateja BREŠČAK, France Gorše, Sto umetnin Narodne galerije (Ljubljana, Narodna galerija, ed. Mateja Breščak), Ljubljana 2016, pp. 1192-193.
- Verena KORŠIČ, s. v. Gorše, France (1897-1986), Slovenska biografija, 2013, https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi1010390/ (19.6.2025).
- Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Gorše, France, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971, col. 755.
- Ivan SEDEJ, France Gorše 1897-1986, Ribnica 1997.
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