France Gorše

FRANCE GORŠE (1897, Zamostec pri Sodražici – 1986, Golnik pri Kranju) studied sculpture at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts. After living in Trieste for some years he opened a private drawing school in Ljubljana which was attended by some of later acclaimed Slovene artists. Before the end of the war he emigrated to Trieste and, in 1952, to the USA, returning in 1971 to Sveče na Koroškem, Austria. Predominant in his extensive oeuvre are expressive portraits, nudes and genre motifs while works with religious themes occupy a special place in his body of work. 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 display also includes a major donation (1998) by dr. Slavka Bratina from Canada. The shared exhibition of 36 sculptures by Gorše, alongside 9 paintings by Jože Gorjup, has been on display since 1992.