Gustav Gnamuš, Untitled, 1977/78, acrylic on canvas, 181 x 181 cm
We are saddened by the news of the passing of one of the prominent figures in the field of painting in Slovenia. Gustav Gnamuš studied under professors Maksim Sedej, France Mihelič and Gabrijel Stupica at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, graduating in 1966.
Born in Mežica, Gnamuš lived and worked in Ljubljana most of his life. He had his first exhibition in Ravne na Koroškem in 1969, which was followed by numerous solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad, including in Vienna, Prague, Belgrade, Madrid, and Brussels. His works were included in all the major survey shows of Slovenian and Yugoslav contemporary painting. Many of his canvases are now in the collections of central Slovenian museums and galleries, as well as foreign ones, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade and the Neue Galerie in Graz. Moderna galerija staged Gnamuš’s retrospective exhibition in 2000.
Gnamuš’s artistic expression was consistently restrained, focusing on color as his main means of expression. While initially a figurative painter, he soon came under the influence of American abstraction and became one of the leading representatives of Slovenian abstract painting. He perceived his paintings as “meditative surfaces,” often titling them neutrally Untitled, He underscored the significance of perception or sight for the understanding of his works, aware of the complex psychological processes occurring in an individual while experiencing a work of art. Gnamuš was also an exceptional teacher, capable of articulating visual problems in the context of his painting philosophically, and presenting them thus to the audience.
Between 1967 and 1971, Gnamuš taught art at the primary school in Prevalje. He then worked as a freelance artist until 1979, when he was elected assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. Between 1983 and 1985 he served as the head of the painting department there, becoming an associate professor in 1985 and a full professor of drawing and painting in 1990. In 2013, he was awarded the title of professor emeritus.
He received numerous awards for his painting at home and abroad, including the Rihard Jakopič Award in 1996 and the Prešeren Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.
