Stane Kregar

(Zapuže, 10.11.1905-Ljubljana, 1.8.1973)

Stane Kregar was a versatile person. Initially, he graduated from the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy in Ljubljana, but his great desire to create art led him to the Academy in Prague. There he trained as an academic artist between 1930 and 1935. Kregar's first works of art were based on the artistic language of the synthetic cubists, who in their essence tried to distance themselves as much as possible from nature. In his new environment, he socialised with Czech surrealists, and followed the works of French painters with ardent interest. At that time, the first major changes in Kregar's style were noticeable, and in terms of artistic expression, they came closer and closer to the works of contemporary French artists. He got to know their works of art in even more detail during his two-year stay in France.

During this time, Kregar explored the connection between art, literature and music. He was mainly interested in uncontrolled creative impulses, which arose on the basis of the artist's feeling at a given moment and left an automatic trace on the canvas. He also went to Italy several times, where he trained in his skills. Since settling in Ljubljana, he has gone through many phases in style and developed his own artistic language towards surrealism. In 1937, Stane Kregar joined the Independent Club. The artistic movement brought together mainly Zagreb artists who, in their artistic expression, moved towards colour realism. After 1952, he became interested in lyrical abstraction, in which the tangibility of the real world can still be recognised. He placed a strong emphasis on colour, which contributes to communication with its intensity. He painted slightly more than 100 works of art with oil paints on canvas. He also created gouaches, frescoes, mosaics, stained glass and illustrations. The range of motifs is dominated by abstract images and still lifes, but there are also quite a few portraits and fantastic images. During the last two decades, Kregar moved somewhat away from complete abstraction and returned to figurative art.

During this period, most sacral orders were created, which the artist tried to bring as close as possible to modern conditions. Although he was an artist at heart, he still respected the laws of Christianity in his sacral images, and presented them in a more modern way in step with the times. His works of art were presented in Ljubljana in the 1950s and 1960s, and they also reached Trieste and Maribor. He also participated in an exhibition in Berlin in 1951, and a few years later in Belgrade. Stane Kregar received the Prešeren Award in 1971 for his outstanding achievements in the field of painting.

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Stane Kregar je bil vsestransko orientirana osebnost. Sprva je v Ljubljani diplomiral na teološki in filozofski fakulteti, velika želja po umetnostnem ustvarjanju pa ga je vodila na praško akademijo. Tam se je med 1930 in 1935 izučil za akademskega umetnika. Prve Kregarjeve umetnine so se opirale na likovno govorico sintetičnih kubistov, ki so se v svojem bistvu skušal čim bolj odmakniti od narave. V novem okolju se je družil s češkimi nadrealisti, z gorečim zanimanjem pa je spremljal dela francoskih slikarjev. Takrat so opazne prve večje spremembe v Kregarjevem slogu in so se v likovnem izrazu vse bolj približale delom sočasnih francoskih umetnikov. Z njihovimi umetninami se je še bolj podrobno seznanil med dvoletnim bivanjem v Franciji.

V tem času je Kregar raziskoval povezavo med umetnostjo, literaturo in glasbo. Zanimali so ga predvsem nenadzorovani ustvarjalni impulzi, ki so nastali na podlag umetnikovega občutenja v danem trenutku in so na platnu pustili avtomatično sled. Večkrat se je odpravil tudi v Italijo, kjer se je uril v svojih veščinah. Odkar se je ustalil v Ljubljani je prešel skozi mnoge faze v slogu in razvijal lastno likovno govorico proti nadrealistični usmeritvi. Leta 1937 se je Stane Kregar pridružil Klubu Neodvisnih. Umetnostno gibanje je združevalo predvsem zagrebške umetnike, ki so se v likovnem izrazu usmerili proti barvnemu realizmu. Po letu 1952 se je začel zanimati za lirično abstrakcijo, v kateri je še mogoče prepoznati otipljivost realnega sveta. Močan poudarek je namenil barvi, ki s svojo intenziteto pripomore k sporočilnosti. Nekaj več kot 100 umetnin je naslikal z oljnimi barvami na platno. Ustvarjal je tudi gvaše, freske, mozaike, vitraje in ilustracije. V naboru motivov prevladujejo abstraktne podobe in tihožitja, kar nekaj pa je tudi portretov in fantastičnih podob. Tekom zadnjih dveh desetletji se je Kregar nekoliko oddaljil od popolne abstrakcije in se vrnil k figuraliki.

V tem obdobju je nastalo največ sakralnih naročil, ki jih je umetnik čim bolje skušal približati novodobnim razmeram. Čeprav je bil po duši umetnik, je v njegovih sakralnih podobah še vedno spoštoval zakonitosti krščanstva, te pa je v koraku s časom predstavil na bolj sodoben način. Njegove umetnine so leta 1950 in 1960 predstavili v Ljubljani, segle pa so tudi v Trst in Maribor. Sodeloval je tudi na razstavi v Berlinu, leta 1951, nekaj let kasneje pa tudi v Beogradu. Za njegove izjemne dosežke na področju slikarstva je Stane Kregar leta 1971 prejel Prešernovo 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:
Špelca ČOPIČ, Slovensko slikarstvo, Ljubljana 1966.
Luc MENAŠE, s. v. Kregar, Stane, Evropski umetnostno zgodovinski leksikon, Ljubljana 1971,
col. 1064.
Lucijan MENAŠE, s. v. Kregar, Stane, Enciklopedija Likovnih Umjetnosti, 3, Zagreb 1964, p. 243.
France STELE, Slovenski slikarji, Ljubljana 1949, pp. 147-148.
Vesna ŠORLI PUC, Sakralno slikarstvo Staneta Kregarja, Kregarjevo strmenje k nevidnim obalam (Ljubljana, ed. Milček Komelj), Ljubljana 2005, p. 135.