Negovan Nemec
Negovan Nemec (1947) began studying sculpture in 1967 at the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Ljubljana under professors Drago Tršar and Boris Kalin, and graduated in 1976 under Professor Slavko Tihec. He was the first academically trained sculptor of the post-war generation in the Goriška region.
At the age of 33, he chose to pursue a career as a freelance artist and established his studio in Bilje. Before that, he taught window display design at the School Centre for Trade and later art education at the grammar school in Nova Gorica.
He was already successful during his studies: in his second year, he received the Prešeren Student Award for his work Self-portrait. In 1969, he created a stone figural composition for the monument of friendship and cooperation between the National Liberation Struggle (NOB) in Blaževci by the Kolpa River. In his fourth year, he won a public competition to design the federal relay baton (which he also designed again in 1983). For his diploma thesis, he created a monument to fallen NOB fighters at Gradišče above Prvačina.
He also worked during his military service (1974): in Sarajevo, he produced several wooden figural sculptures, and in Belgrade a monumental iron sculpture.
His oeuvre includes numerous busts of prominent figures (including works for the Avenue of Distinguished Figures in Nova Gorica), public monuments, reliefs, and sculptures in Carrara marble. In addition to sculpture, he was also active in graphic and industrial design: he created visual identities, posters, invitations, awards, and tombstone designs. For the Kogojevi dnevi festival, he designed the emblem, poster, and invitation, and he also provided the visual design for Nelida Nemec’s book Post-war Public Monuments in the Primorska Region. He collaborated with the furniture factory IZTOK Miren, designing the bedroom set Prebujanje.
He held his first solo exhibition in 1972 at the Meblo Gallery in Nova Gorica together with painter Lucijan Bratuš. He exhibited widely across Slovenia and neighbouring regions, as well as in Belgrade and Split, and participated in numerous group exhibitions, biennials, and symposia.
He was a member of the Association of Slovenian Fine Artists and president of the Fine Artists’ Association of Northern Primorska. In 1984, he received the Bevk Award.
In June 1987, he suffered a fatal accident at Kekec above Nova Gorica and died in August the same year.
Avtor: Polonca Kavčič
Vir:
From the article:
https://www.obrazislovenskihpokrajin.si/oseba/nemec-negovan/