(Ljubljana, 25.9.1932 – Brač, Croatia, 26.1.2021)
Janez Pirnat was a Slovenian sculptor, draftsman and graphic artist who came from a family of Slovenian artists. He received his first art education from his father Nikolaj Pirnat, which he later upgraded with Jakob Savinšek. Between 1953 and 1959 he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana.
In his free time, the artist liked to visit Karel Putrich's studio, where he studied his individual approach to sculpture. He created mainly in stone. He was especially interested in the cubist approach to art, which transformed the torso from purely classical forms into something new, something different. This made the sculptures much more abstract and expressive and, in their rough appearance, went beyond mere imitation of nature. He gained inspiration for them on numerous trips around Europe. He visited Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, where he followed the works of contemporary artists with great interest.
During his fruitful sculptural career, he developed his own style, in which he slightly modified his figures. His works often appear as unfinished works of art, which are supposed to roughly indicate only the silhouette of bodies. Pirnat's oeuvre is extensive and extremely monumental. He often created individual motifs in cycles, among which Caryatids and images from dreams stand out. He also undertook several sculptural commissions for the capital, namely a monument to Franc Rozman Stane and the partisan generals, a relief to Jože Plečnik in the basement of the NUK, and several other monuments with a NOB theme.
In 1965, he joined the sculpture competition for the large Slovenian exhibition Forma Viva. This is still considered the most extensive post-war sculpture competition, which brought together the most successful living Slovenian artists in stone, wood, and metal. He also participated in numerous other exhibitions at home and around Yugoslavia. He also presented himself in Italy, where the artist was also noticed by international art critics. He also actively participated in the wider cultural sphere within the capital. Every year, he organized his own exhibition of works, to which he invited a wide variety of art lovers in the city. There is little in his oeuvre that is monumental figurative art.
Most of the works were created in the artist's studio in Ljubljana, but he also arranged them in Sipar, Grožnjan and Brač, where he visited in his free time. In Istria, Pirnat was able to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and create in peace. In the last years of his life, he married and moved to Brač. There, in memory of his rich activities, a few days are dedicated to him every year, organized by The Cure frontman Robert Smirh. He received the Župančič Award for his lifetime.
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Janez Pirnat je bil slovenski kipar, risar in grafik, ki je izhajal iz družine slovenskih umetnikov. Prvo likovno izobrazbo je dobil pri očetu Nikolaju Pirnatu, ki jo je kasneje nadgradil še pri Jakobu Savinšku. Med 1953 in 1959 je obiskoval Akademijo likovnih umetnosti v Ljubljani.
V prostem času je umetnik rad zahajal v atelje Karla Putriha, kjer je preučeval njegov individualen pristop h kiparstvu. Ustvarjal je predvsem v kamnu. Zanimal ga je predvsem kubistični pristop k umetnosti, ki je torza iz zgolj klasičnih oblik preoblikoval v nekaj novega, nekaj drugačnega. S tem so namreč skulpture postale veliko bolj abstrahirane in ekspresivne in so v kočni podobi presegle zgolj posnemanje iz narave. Navdih zanje je dobil na številnih potovanjih po Evropi. Obiskal je Italijo, Nemčijo, Francijo, Švico, Belgijo in Nizozemsko, kjer je z velikim zanimanjem spremljal dela sočasnih umetnikov.
Tekom plodovite kiparske kariere je razvil svoj lasten slog, v katerem je svoje figure nekoliko predrugačil. Njegova dela večkrat delujejo kot nedokončane umetnine, ki naj bi v grobem nakazovale zgolj na silhueto teles. Pirnatov opus je obsežen in izredno monumentalen. Večkrat je posamezne motive izdeloval v ciklih, med katerimi izstopajo Kariatide in podobe iz sanj. Lotil se je tudi več kiparskih nalog za prestolnico in sicer spomenik Francu Rozmanu Stanetu in partizanskim generalom, relief Jožetu Plečniku v kleti NUKa in nekaj drugih obeležji z NOB tematiko.
Leta 1965 se je pridružil kiparskemu natečaju za veliko slovensko razstavo Forma Viva. Ta še danes velja za najbolj obsežni povojni kiparski natečaj, ki je združil najuspešnejše živeče slovenske ustvarjalce v kamnu, lesu in kovini. Sodeloval je tudi na številnih drugih razstavah doma in po Jugoslaviji. Predstavil se je tudi v Italiji, kjer so umetnika opazili tudi mednarodni likovni kritiki. Aktivno se je vključil tudi v širšo kulturno sfero znotraj prestolnice. Vsako leto je namreč priredil lastno razstavo del, na katero je povabil najrazličnejše ljubitelje umetnosti v mestu. V njegovem opusu najdemo tako malo kot monumentalno figuralno umetnost.
Večino del je nastalo v umetnikovem ateljeju v Ljubljani, uredil pa si jih je tudi na Siparju, v Grožnjanu in na Braču, kamor je zahajal v prostem času. V Istri se je Pirnat lahko oddaljil od mestnega vrveža in ustvarjal v miru. V zadnjih letih življenja se je poročil in preselil na Brač. Tam mu v spomin na bogato udejstvovanje vsako leto posvetijo nekaj dni, ki jih prireja frontman skupine The Cure Robert Smirh. Za čas življenja je prejel Župančičevo nagrado.
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:
- Iztok DURJAVA, Janez Pirnat, Enciklopedija Slovenije, 8, Nos–Pli, Ljubljana 1994, str. 353.
- Boris JEŽ, Klešem v naravni velikosti, da se to lahko vsaj malce potipa: Janez Pirnat, kipar, Delo. Sobotna priloga, 52/276, 2010, str. 28–29.
- Boštjan JURETIČ, Umrl je kipar Janez Pirnat, 27.1.2021, https://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/arhitektura-in-oblikovanje/umrl-je-kipar-janez-pirnat/550443 (2.6.2025).
- Miroslav PELIKAN, Janez Pirnat, akademski kipar – razgovor u povodu, Portal Zagreb, 2. 7. 2017, http://mojzagreb.info/zagreb/hrvatska/janez-pirnat-nejasmic (1.3.2025).
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