Jernej Forbici

Jernej Forbici studied at the College for Visual Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He completed a degree in painting (with honors) under Professor Carlo Di Raco at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and then a Master’s degree in visual and performing arts disciplines. From 1999, his work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in various European countries, the United States, Canada, Argentina and China. Forbici has been invited to participate in the following Biennales: Hicetnunc, Pordenone (2003); International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Prague, German pavilion (2005); Accade, 52nd Venice Biennale (2007) and 54th Venice Biennale, Arsenale pavilion (2011). In 2009, the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice organized a retrospective of Forbici’s works at the Magazzini del Sale, curated by Carlo Di Raco. In 2011, after having published his first monograph and presented five retrospectives in Italy and Slovenia, he was invited to participate in the exhibition Il Fuoco della Natura in Trieste. In 2012, Forbici won a scholarship from the Slovenian Ministry of Culture and took up residency in London to study the English masters. From 2013–18, he realized various projects in private galleries and public institutions in Italy and abroad (Venice, Varese, Milan, Latina, Piacenza, Montesarchio, Vienna, Maribor and Luxembourg), where Forbici showed the development of his pictorial work and his artistic research.

Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.

While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.

Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.

Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.

Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.

Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.