Herman Pečarič Collection –
New set up |
Herman Pečarič Gallery, Piran | 06.02.2026-10.05.2026 |
Opening: Friday, February 6, 2026, at 5 p.m.
Set up: Ana Papež, Tatjana Sirk.
“The most fertile phase of the activity of the Piran painter Herman Pečarič (1908–1981) dates back to the second half of the last century. Almost indifferent to the prevailing artistic trends of the time, the artist cultivated a highly personal expressive language marked by a strong sensitivity to color, realistic form, and motifs deeply rooted in the reality of Slovenian Istria. (…) Even a very quick glance at his permanent donation-collection reveals how much he drew on this rich and varied repertoire throughout practically all of his creative phases. Landscapes arose in fleeting moments of inspiration, when the artist, on numerous canvases (and very often drawings as well), captured the relaxed rhythms of the everyday life of coastal people, the changing images of the seasons, or the barely perceptible shifts of light throughout the day. In depicting picturesque panoramic views or glimpses of alleyways and cityscapes, he often shifted from tonal painting to a method of spatial coloration, through which he succeeded in making the colors speak at their fullest intensity, to the point of their pure, original language. (…) With particular passion he devoted himself to landscapes depicting olive groves, to which he owes, among other things, his great popularity.”
Herman Pečarič donated to the city of Piran a rich collection of paintings, drawings, and graphic works, characterized mostly by Istrian motifs. After many years of efforts, in 1999 the collection found its home in a refurbished building dating from the transition between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which at that time was designated as a gallery. Dedicated to the artist, it serves as a permanent display of his artistic legacy. The collection is preserved and managed by the Piran Coastal Galleries, which are also responsible for its public presentation and promotion. Over the years, several selections from the collection have been exhibited; Pečarič’s work has also been the subject of various interesting temporary exhibitions (Olive Grove with Red Earth, 2008; My Studio at Night, 2015; An Easel for Two, 2018 …) and other mostly educational projects (When a Line Appears, 2025).
The gallery underwent renovation again at the end of 2025, under the direction of the Municipality of Piran, and now presents itself with a renewed façade in an elegant shade. The gallery is now prepared to host the new layout of the Pečarič collection, and the works selected by curators Ana Papež and Tatjana Sirk will this time occupy the walls of both the ground floor and the first floor of the gallery.
The exhibition of selected works and works on paper will be inaugurated on the occasion of the Slovenian Cultural Holiday, on Friday, 6 February 2026, at 5 p.m.
For further insight into the work of the artist Herman Pečarič, please consult the digitalized catalogue.
1 Majda Božeglav Japelj: Olive Grove with Red Earth, Coastal Galleries Piran, Piran, March 2008, pp. 4–5.
BIOGRAPHY
Herman Pečarič (Albaro Vescovà, March 6, 1908 – Ancarano, December 31, 1981) was the sixth child of the mason Miha Pečarič and Marija, born Pečarič. Already in elementary school, his favorite subject was drawing, and he enjoyed attending the lessons of his teacher Gabrijelčič.
After elementary school, due to the family’s modest economic conditions, Pečarič began training as a merchant. From 1927 to 1930, he looked for work in Belgrade, Dalmatia, Ljubljana, and finally in Maribor, where he found steady employment and began to develop an interest in art. Under the advice of the painter Anton Gvojc, he began painting nature. The surroundings of Maribor became his first studio.
A few years later, when he was transferred to Ljubljana as an employee of the Railway Cooperative, he enrolled in the evening painting school Probuda. Here, he studied under Saša Šantel and Mirko and Rajko Šubic. At the same time, he refined his oil painting technique with the painter Henrika Šantel.
At the end of Yugoslavia (1941), Pečarič was imprisoned in a German concentration camp and later in an Austrian one, where he remained until liberation in 1945. Despite the extremely difficult conditions, he produced numerous drawings, many of which are now part of the collection in Piran.
After the war, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, where he completed his studies in 1950. In the same year, he returned home and settled in Piran, where — although no longer young, at the age of forty-two — he devoted himself entirely to a career as an independent artist. Piran completely captivated him with its colors and architecture. In 1952 (from 1950 as a candidate), he became a member of the Association of Slovene Fine Artists.
After a successful solo exhibition in Belgrade, in 1955 he married Marija (Mija) Velikonja and made his first trip to Italy. In the following years, in addition to painting, he also worked in illustration for the magazine Slovenski Jadran and in set design for the People’s Theatre of Koper. He traveled and studied extensively. From time to time, he gave drawing lessons. He organized solo exhibitions and took part in group exhibitions. In 1979, the Piran Coastal Galleries organized a retrospective exhibition of his work.
Two years after his death, his wife Marija (Velikonja) Pečarič signed a donation agreement with the mayor of Piran for 141 works of art by her late husband, in accordance with his explicit wish. Paintings, prints, and drawings make up the permanent exhibition in the gallery that bears the painter’s name, offering an overview of the artist’s creativity from his early beginnings to the final years of his work.
