FRANCE GORŠE (Zamostec pri Sodražici, 1897 – Golnik pri Kranju, 1986). Studied sculpture at the Zagreb academy. After living in Trieste for some years he opened a private drawing school in Ljubljana which was attended by some of today’s established Slovene artists. Before the end of the war he emigrated to Trieste and, in 1952, to America, returning in 1971 to Sveče na Koroškem. Predominant in his extensive oeuvre are expressive portraits, nudes and genre motifs. Works with religious themes occupy a special place. In the course of his creative experimentation he came up with a new technique called orešec (involving a mixture of walnut sawdust and glue). The permanent collection also includes a major donation (1998) by Dr Slavka Bratina from Canada. The joint exhibition of 36 sculptures by Gorše alongside nine paintings by Jože Gorjup has been on view since 1992.
