The eighth unique artistic bench, named “The (B)right Truth of Freedom”, is located in front of the building, on Ulica slovenske osamosvojitve, next to Leon Štukelj Square in Maribor, which housed the newspaper Večer until the end of 2023. Its creator is academic painter Dr. h. c. Vojko Pogačar. The bench is made of metal and glass. The ceremonial unveiling took place on 13 October 2016.
Vojko Pogačar graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Ljubljana. He was a member of the Paris–Belleville association of visual artists and the art groups 3H30, Paris–Bordeaux, and Ant-Artika. He has held more than 90 solo exhibitions and over 160 group exhibitions. He has received recognition for significant contributions to industrial design, was a head of the Laboratory for Engineering Product Design, and was a lecturer at the University of Maribor (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Architecture). In 2016, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Maribor for his work in developing of the ‘Engineering Product Design’ study programme. Between 2010 and 2017, he served as President of the Slovenian Society for Colours, and since 2019, he has been President of the Maribor Fine Artists Society and Vice-President of the Slovenian Association of Fine Arts Societies.
Story of the Bench
The creator intended the bench to be dedicated to ideals—truth and freedom—particularly because it is placed in front of the entrance to the former building of the Večer newspaper, whose transparency and credibility, in the artist’s view, are to be trusted.
