Janez Bernik (6 September 1933 – 15 July 2016) was a multiple-time awarded and internationally acclaimed Slovenian painter and academic.
Bernik was born in the village of
Gunclje
Gunclje (; german: Gunzle) is a settlement in central Slovenia, immediately northwest of the capital Ljubljana. It belongs to the Šentvid District of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is part of the traditional region of Upper Carniola and i ...
, now part of
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana
The Academy of Fine Arts and Design ( sl, Akademija za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje, also known by the acronym ALUO), is an art academy and institution based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Maksim Sedej. From 1956 to 1958, he continued his studies with the professors of graphic design
Božidar Jakac
Božidar Jakac (July 16, 1899 – November 20, 1989) was a Slovene Expressionist, Realist and Symbolist painter, printmaker, art teacher, photographer and filmmaker. He produced one of the most extensive oeuvres of pastels and oil paintings ...
and
Riko Debenjak
Riko (written: , , , or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Riko Azuna (born 1993), Japanese singer
* Riko E. Bishop (born 1956), Japanese judge
* Riko Gunji (born 2002), Japanese badminton pl ...
, and on a number of study travels (Italy, France...). From 1958 to 1969, he worked as a freelance artist, and in 1970 started teaching as a professor of drawing and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. From 1979 to 1996, when he retired, he was a full professor and the head of the Painting Department of the Academy. He was member of the Group 69 and participated at all its exhibitions. In 1989, he was named an associate member of the
Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members o ...
European Academy of Sciences and Arts
The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 37 Nobel Prize laure ...
. He died in Prebold.
Bernik was a versatile artist, who reached excellent results in
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
,
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
,
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
,
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
,
tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
,
book design
Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. In the words of renowned typographer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974), book design, "though ...
, and
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
. His graphic prints are kept in numerous worldwide-known galleries and collections. He had over 60 independent exhibitions, including at the main galleries of the former Yugoslavia, Klagenfurt, Milan, Rome, Paris, Berlin, New York... Several times, he also participated at the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
, as well as at a number of group exhibitions at home and abroad. He published four independent graphic folders. His poems were published in two collections; the first one in the monograph ''Lines'' ("Črte"), and the second one, ''Triptych'' ("Triptih"), in the catalogue ''1985 Exhibition '' ("Razstava 1985") and the '' New Magazine'' ("Nova revija").
Of the domestic awards, of particular importance are the Prešeren Fund Award for painting and graphic design (1963), Jakopič Award for painting (1971), and
Prešeren Award
The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...
(1981). He also received a number of international honorary awards and golden medals for painting and graphic design. His works are kept by Slovenian galleries (Ljubljana, Maribor, Ajdovščina, and Idrija) and by galleries and museums in most of larger European cities (London, Vienna, Prague, Zagreb, Warsaw, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam). Many of his works are also kept in the Northern and Southern Americas (San Francisco, Washington, New York, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro), and even Japan (Tokio).