DUŠAN TRŠAR

Dušan Tršar was born on 18 January, 1937, in Planina near Postojna/Rakek. In 1953, he completed his training with master smith Bertoncelj at the art smithery school in Kropa. He graduated in 1963 in the department of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana under the supervision of Prof Zdenko Kalin and Prof Frančišek Smerdu. In 1966, he finished a sculpture masterclass taught by Prof Boris Kalin. He taught art education at the Pioneers’ Home in Ljubljana for ten years. In 1970, he studied in Italy on a scholarship awarded by the Prešeren Fund, and in 1975, on a Moša Pijade Fund scholarship, in France. He went on study trips to Poland, Hungary, North Africa and the USA. In the 1970s, he was a member of a group of neoconstructivists – he designed objects made of metal (iron) and plexiglass (fluorescent plexiglass combined with neon). From 1979 until retirement in 2006, he was a lecturer of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana; from 1989 to 1991, he was also the Dean of the academy. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad, the 1973 exhibition of contemporary Yugoslavian art in Coventry and the 1974 Mediterranean Biennial among others. He received several important awards for his work, including the Prešeren Fund Award. His public works are installed in Ljubljana, Celje, Kranj, Murska Sobota and elsewhere. In 2006, Ana Nuša Dragan directed his cinematic portrayal. He lives and works in Ljubljana.