ALBIN ROGELJ – BINE (1929–2023)
The recent passing of the painter Albin Rogelj has also affected the sporting community, as the artist had been a ski jumper in his youth, and afterwards actively involved in organizing ski jumping and ski flying events in Planica.
Rogelj’s artistic career also followed two paths: after completing his studies and postgraduate work in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 1957, he participated as a promising young artist in several exhibitions of contemporary Slovenian and Yugoslav art at home and abroad.
As early as 1958 he received the renowned award for painting given by the Politika newspaper, and in 1963 was given a Moša Pijade Grant for studying in France. At the time, his favorite motif was old town nuclei – rows of houses, their reflections, walls, cathedrals, stained-glass and rose windows, their grids. In the late 1960s he took a long break from painting, and next exhibited his works, done in the spirit of Art Informel, at retrospective exhibitions in 1995 (MGLC – the International Graphic Art Center) and 2006 (the Cankarjev dom Gallery).
He was well-known to the general public as Bine – a popular, wittily critical caricaturist of Pavliha, a satirical Slovenian newspaper of the time, where he was first introduced while still a student by his professor Marij Pregelj. From 1985 until his retirement in 1990, Rogelj served as Pavliha’s editor-in-chief. His simple and effective drawing style and topical subjects earned him a place in the group exhibition of caricature at the Moderna galerija in 1965, and a solo show at Moderna galerija’s Mala galerija in 1979. In 1970, he received a Prešeren Foundation Award for his work in caricature.
In addition to the activities outlined above, Rogelj also worked as an illustrator, puppet designer, and comic book artist.
In Moderna galerija's Collection of paintings we keep Old town (1985) (photo above)
Albin Rogelj - Bine at Raz_ume
