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(Ljubljana, 25. 3. 1933 - Ljubljana, 22. 4. 2001)

France Rotar was a versatile Slovenian artist, known primarily as an abstract sculptor in marble and bronze. He began to cultivate his love of design in his youth, but he also tried his hand at painting. His oeuvre includes several drawings, tempera on paper and prints, which were created as studies for the large sculpture cycle Spheres.

France Rotar attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Ljubljana. After successfully completing his education, he enrolled in the study of sculpture at the Ljubljana Academy. He completed it in 1959 under Prof. Kalin, and then lived and created as a freelance artist. After finishing his education, Rotar devoted himself to exploring his own artistic expression. In the 1980s, he traveled to Italy with the help of a scholarship from the Prešeren Fund. He worked in Verona for ten years of his life, where he supplemented his knowledge of bronze casting in a local foundry. He also went to Paris for a short time to study.

In 1991, Rotar returned to Ljubljana. During this period, he taught as an associate professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, and was soon awarded a full professorship. He created many monumental sculptures that still adorn public spaces today. He was particularly characterized by cut-out spheres, which he explored from 1966 until the end of his career. They can be found in all dimensions and materials, and the most monumental ones also adorn public spaces. One of these can be found on Metelkova and behind Bežigrad, and they are even present abroad. These are unusual shell-like structures in which the essence is presented in a hollowed-out interior. There we find a variety of massive bodies that are geometrically perfect. Before the artist became completely fascinated with the design of spheres, he also explored other motifs. Some of these are represented by a helmet, a helmet, a shell and a shield, which he repeated in series.

In 1966, as a young and aspiring artist, he joined the BE-54 group. The year marks the beginning of the end of the aforementioned organization, but he also worked with its representatives for a while. The members of the group presented themselves at a major exhibition at the Moderna galerija that same year. When the formed community disintegrated, the artist joined Group 69. He was even one of its co-founders. The group was not bound by prescribed stylistic guidelines, but its members sought high-quality production in a wide variety of expressions. During his life, he actively participated in more than 150 exhibitions at home and abroad. His works are still a popular part of private collections today. He received numerous awards for his work. Among the most important are the Prešeren Fund Award in 1971 and the Jakopič Award in 1988.

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France Rotar je bil vsestranski slovenski umetnik, ki ga poznamo predvsem kot abstraktnega kiparja v marmorju in bronu. Ljubezen do oblikovanja je začel gojiti že v mladosti, pa vendar se je preizkusil tudi v slikanju. Njegov opus obsega kar nekaj risb, delna papir s tempero in grafik, ki so nastale kot študije za veliki kiparski cikel Krogle.

France Rotar je obiskoval šolo za umetno obrt v Ljubljani. Po uspešno opravljenem izobraževanju se je vpisal na študij kiparstva na ljubljansko Akademijo. Leta 1959 jo je zaključil pri prof. Kalinu, nato pa je živel in ustvarjal kot svoboden umetnik. Po koncu šolanja se je Rotar posvetil raziskovanju lastnega likovnega izraza. V 80ih letih je s pomočjo štipendije Prešernovega sklada odpotoval v Italijo. Deset let svojega življenja je ustvarjal v Veroni, kjer je v lokalni livarni dopolnjeval znanje o vlivanju brona. Za kratek čas je odšel tudi na izobraževanje v Pariz.

Leta 1991 se je Rotar vrnil v Ljubljano. V tem obdobju je poučeval kot izredni profesor na Akademiji za likovno umetnost, kmalu pa so mu podelili tudi redno profesuro. Izdelal je veliko monumentalne plastike, ki še danes krasi javni prostor. Zanj so bile značilne predvsem prerezane krogle, ki jih je raziskoval že od leta 1966 pa vse do konca kariere. Najdemo jih v vseh dimenzijah in materialih, najbolj monumentalne pa krasijo tudi javni prostor. Ene takšnih najdemo na Metelkovi in za Bežigradom, prisotne pa so celo v inozemstvu. Gre za nenavadne lupinaste strukture, v katerih je bistvo predstavljeno v izvotljeni notranjosti. Tam najdemo raznolika masivna telesa, ki so geometrijsko dovršena. Preden se je umetnik povsem navdušil nad oblikovanjem krogel, je raziskoval tudi druge motive. Nekaj izmed teh predstavljajo šlem, čelada, lupina in ščit, ki jih je ponavljal v serijah.

Leta 1966 se je kot mladi in nadobudni umetnik pridružil skupini BE-54. Leto predstavlja začetek konca omenjene organizacije, pa vendar je tudi on nekaj časa deloval skupaj z njenimi predstavniki. Člani skupine so se istea leta predstavili na veliki razstavi v Moderni galeriji. Ob razpadu formirane skupnosti se je umetnik pridružil Grupi 69. Bil je celo med njenimi soustanovitelji. Skupino niso povezovale predpisane slogovne usmeritve ampak so člani te iskali visokokakovostno produkcijo v najrazličnejših izrazih. Tekom svojega življenja se je aktivno udeležil več kot 150 razstav doma in v tujini. Njegova dela so še danes priljubljen delček zasebnih zbirk. Za svoje delo je prejel številne nagrade. Med najpomembnejše sodita Nagrada Prešernovega sklada, leta 1971 in Jakopičeva nagrada, leta 1988.

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:

  • N. AR., Krogle in jedra Franceta Rotarja, MMC RTV SLO, 3.9.2014, https://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/razstave/krogle-in-jedra-franceta-rotarja/345506 (12.2.2025).
  • Jadranka LJUBIČIĆ, s. v. Grupa 69, Pojmovnik slovenske umetnosti po letu 1945, pp. 80-83.

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