To date, the Workshop has organized four exhibitions of its collaborators: in Zagreb (1954), in Opatija (1955, 1956, 1957), and an exhibition of five in Belgrade (1956).

This exhibition in Ljubljana, which came about thanks to the invitation of the management of the State Master Workshop for Fine Arts, was established in 1947 based on the idea of Antun Augustinčić with the aim of showcasing the professional diligence of the workshop to the most talented. With the selection of works, we wanted to show the retrospective development of former and current collaborators to postgraduate students of the academies of fine and applied arts, the results achieved in various fields of visual design from brochures to oils, and thereby emphasize the postgraduate study, in short, to offer them the possibility of specialization, which they had not had as academy students until then.

With a four-year study, an appropriate scholarship, workspace, and the possibility of using the workshop’s materials and equipment, these help the young artist precisely in that period of development which has always been critical and in which many of our hopes have broken. This is the time when a young artist leaves the academy but has not yet managed to establish themselves and find their personal profile.

The loss of contact with the artistic milieu provided by the academies affects the loss of aspirations, and life circumstances and material conditions almost always prevent them from continuing their studies. The Workshop offers the young artist the possibility of continuing their studies so that they can perfect their generally acquired knowledge and understanding of the metier, while simultaneously developing their personal artistic inclination. In this sense, the role of the workshop, if conceived as a pedagogical institution, is precious.

The Workshop, led by Prof. Krsto Hegedušić, accepted its first collaborators in 1950. Since then, 18 regular and external collaborators have attended the workshop. The regular study, lasting four years, was completed by: Boris Dogan, Ivo Kalina, Ferdinand Kulmer, and Šime Perić.

MÁLIGEC RUDOLF