• Janez Pristavec

    1947 – 2008

Janez Pristavec was an influential Slovenian painter and art teacher. He is credited with thorough explorations of various styles. Born in Maribor, Pristavec spent his childhood there. He enrolled at the University of Ljubljana, studying fine art. His professors include famous Slovenian artists like Bogdan Borčič, Nikolaj Omersa, Zoran Didek, Gabrijel Stupica and Štefan Planinc. After graduation he became active member of Maribor creative & artistic groups, through 1980-2005. He had around 40 solo and 85 group exhibitions.

Artistic periods

Childhood and early work (1974–1979)

Pristavec started to work on drawing techniques in elementary school at the age 9. He was mostly occupied with standard motives – landscapes, portraits, self-portraits, flowers. Through them he perfected his drawing skills, but was unable to go to the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, because of family reasons. He nevertheless continued his work in graphic art, dry needle and linocut. He finally enlisted in the Academy in 1974, already proficient in several techniques.

Academy (1974–1979)

As a student, he started focusing on drawing of animals and self portraits. He specialized in reptiles,especially frogs, lizards and fish, which he depicted in a naturalistic fashion; but he was also interested in the human figure. Early on he started making graphic art, which replaced previous pencil and ink drawings. In the middle of his studies, he focused on female nudes, first classically, later in minimalist, cubist forms that he built on clear, vivid colors – influence of Matisse. After 1976 the nudes become test field for color explorations, which are connected with his studying of color fields with geometric elements. That became the main interest of his thesis and was influenced by American abstract expressionism (Rothko, Newman).

Graphics and linocut (1980–1983)

After making the series of abstract nudes on paper in 1979, he devoted three years to linocuts and woodcuts. Reptiles are still one of his main themes, followed by fish in different colors and geometric shapes.

The drawings depicting deformed female bodies with a distorted perspective are made between 1981 and 1983.

Color explorations(1984–1995)

It all started with a local hill in Maribor, named Meljski hrib (Melje hill). Quote from painter: “[Art 1] Painting contest Ex tempore’83 was a motivation for finding motives and ideas around and out of the city. I became fascinated with Melje hill. I analyzed it up close,from afar, from both banks of the river Drava, i climbed it many times. I returned in different weather and light conditions. Fulfilled with many emotions and ideas I returned to my studio and painted all my impressions. Theoretically I was very interested in the colors yellow and orange which form a constant in small quantities. These two colors created the tension in several qualitative color fields. which correlate with my feelings and emotions. The paintings are made in hard, medium or dark color modes. I achieve specific colors with active drawing between color shades in one color field.”

The result is the series called “The hill”. Made in 1983–85, it consists of around 230 works, combined techniques on paper, 50×70 or 60×84 cm.

In 1986, a large multimedia exhibition was held in Maribor. It gave Pristavec a push into expressive figuratives on large mashed paper which lasted till 1992.[Art 2] Another croos influence were Neue Wilde, artistic group in Germany which connected him to primitive art of old tribes. In 1990 he reenters work on large mashed paper, this time without any motives or themes. He described it as spiritual transcendental color spaces and entrance into higher dimension of reality.

I always watch nature. In 1994 I noticed leaves with perfectly structured color harmonies of yellow, light green and black. Quantitative and qualitative color combinations were perfect, as a result of their genetic programming. I found my painting of structured chromatic fields – spiritual transcendent color spaces in nature itself. I made a montage and series of color laser xerographies and made an exhibition. The cycle of abstraction somehow naturally finished, died away, like music in space in time. Without emotional power it became creatively uninteresting. It was time for different explorations!”

Portraits (1993–1999)

When my abstract phase played itself out I returned to portraiture, the most complicated task a painter can get. I decided, to start anew, from the beginning. I studied the concept of symmetrical painting in perspective (Kate Moss). I started to paint in color realism just like I saw older colleagues after the war on the Academy of Fine Arts. I was very curious about the portraits of a hunter by Luchas Cranach, with simple drawings and a warm color scale, Hogarths The Shrimp Girl and beautiful painting of H. Matisse. Here were also my professors, Stupicas portrait painting (L. Menaše, M. Pogačnik, M. Kraševec) and his idols El Greco, Goya, Velasquez, Soutin, Modigliani, Kokoška. Other inspirations were exquisite sculpture portraits of my study colegues (Jelisava Čopič, France Mihelič, N. Omersa, R. Debenjak) under mentorship of professor Zdenko Kalin and suggestive extremely minimalistic portraits of Branko Ružič.”

Caricature portraits(1999–2006)

1999 was important time for me when i went out and start drawing people in public places. It was year after my wife died and i couldn’t stand the loneliness of studio.” Analyzing Hesse, Fromm, Jung and eastern phylosophies, he developed new lifestand. Creating of artistic work is like a ritual, it involves the depicted person, which through commentaries and suggestions can influence final work. He consciously took a position of observer and started to depict people, groups, musicians, poets on social gathering. Regarding the previous works on precise portraits, he considered this as evolution from naturalism to caricature. He specialized in quick scetches and did the work on spot, depicting many important persons and events of Maribors cultural life through 1999 – 2006. Large portion of this work is collected in book Janez Pristavec: Srečanja, 2006.

Mythology(2007–2008)

Since 2005, Pristavec was weakened by a prolonged illness and his physical strength deteriorated fast. While writing about his pain and problems, he kept on working with oil and acrylic and has produced 40 canvases depicting vivid and colorful scenes from Greek, Christian and Slavic mythology.

Exhibitions


Books
 
Janez Pristavec: Meetings (Srečanja) [foreword Mario Berdič], Maribor, Mariborska literarna družba, 2006; ISBN 961-6483-54-4