Božidar Jakac Art Museum, Kostanjevica na Krki

Exterior of Božidar Jakac Art Museum in the former Kostanjevica Monastery, Kostanjevica na Krki. In front: a sculpture from the Forma Viva Open Air Wood Sculpture Collection

Founded in 1974, the Božidar Jakac Gallery, Kostanjevica na Krki is located in the building of the former Kostanjevica Monastery, one of Slovenia's finest medieval monuments, which is situated in the picturesque landscape of south-eastern Slovenia. Initially the gallery focused on presenting the artistic legacy of the Bela Krajina, Dolenjska and Posavje regions. Today it also presents contemporary artistic production on the regional, national and international levels. Božidar Jakac Gallery manages the Forma Viva Open Air Wood Sculpture Collection set in the former monastery park and prepares the programme for its two dislocated gallery spaces: Gorjup Gallery and Lamut's Art Salon in the town of Kostanjevica na Krki.

Collection

Among other artists, Božidar Jakac Gallery permanently exhibits local painter Jože Gorjup, a representative of expressionism and new objectivity; further works donated by Tone Kralj and graphic art by Božidar Jakac, a representative of expressionism and lyric realism, who in 2009 on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of his birth was commemorated with a new installation of his exhibition counting 105 art works ranging from oil on canvases through pastels to graphic and drawings.

The permanent collection of the Božidar Jakac Gallery also represents other Slovene artists of the 20th century, including France Kralj, France Gorše, Zoran Didek, Janez Boljka and Bogdan Borčić, who since 2001 exhibits here his graphic works of more than 937 sheets.

In the upper part of the monastery's southern wing is an important collection of 44 oil paintings by French, Flemish, Italian and German old masters. The collection was previously owned by the nearby Pleterje Charterhouse Monastery. Kostanjevica Monastery itself houses a lapidary collection which comprises medieval masonry fragments such as a keystone with stylised palmettes, a robust cup-shaped capital, a figural capital, a little fragment with a preserved mason's mark, and a remnant of a Gothic painting on part of a vault's rib.

Exhibitions

The monastery Gothic church is considered to be one of the top ranking exhibition venues in Slovenia in terms of the intriguing task - to conceive a site-specific contemporary project. In the recent years Nataša Prosenc, Uršula Berlot, Jože Slak, Roman Makše, Sandi Červek, Robert Šimrak, Mojca Zlokarnik, Petar Barišić, and Mirko Bratuša have exhibited there. Further temporary exhibits are also presented in some adjoining rooms and in Lamut's Art Salon.

Božidar Jakac Gallery also houses a collection of visual communications and visual design for electronic media which belongs to the Museum of Architecture and Design. The collection consists primarily of work by Slovene graphic designers from the fields of poster design, trademarks, and book illustration from the earliest times to the present day.