Gorazd Sotler

In the last years of his life, he left his job, got a divorce and married for the second time. His new wife was Aljoša, née Koser, and they moved to Škofja Loka. Due to poor health, he almost stopped sculpturing and focused on ceramics and painting. His untimely death ended his creativity much too soon. He died on April 21, 1987 in Škofja Loka, where he is also buried.

Figurative influences, which brought so much inspiration for the young artist in Zagreb, were not well received in Ljubljana. The problem was that sculptures at home were much more in line with modernism so other artist and professionals did not pay much attention to Sotler's art. Furthermore, studying in Zagreb broke the continuum of sculpturing in his home town, which resulted in his lack of success to receive a public commission. He withdrew into the world of intimate plastic. He also shared his studio with a painter Marjan Dovjak for a couple of years and made an unusual portrait of the artist during that time. This portrait was later considered as one of the most astonishing portraits of the era. In May 1958, he married Sonja, née Beretič, from Šmarjeta pri Novem mestu and in October of the same year they got a daughter Alenka Sottler, who has become one of the leading illustrators in the world. After the wedding, he took a job of a primary arts teacher in Ljubljana, where he was much loved and respected by his pupils.

During his studies in Zagreb, young Gorazd was greatly influenced by more lyrical sculpture Frano Kršinić who was making female nude sculptures at that time. A diary exists from this period which shows great idealism and sensitivity of the young artist. Even later, female nudes, self-portraits, portraits and drawings remained the main theme in Sotler's opus. After a short trip to Paris in 1954, Sotler finished his postgraduate studies at professor Boris Kalin in Ljubljana.

He attended primary and secondary school (classics programme) in Ljubljana between 1937 and 1949. Afterwards, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana where he studied with professors Boris and Zdenko Kalin. In 1953, he travelled to Zagreb and specialised in sculpture studies at the Academy of Fine Arts at the famous sculpture Antun Avgustinčič. Gorazd Sotler graduated in 1954.

Gorazd Sotler né Sottler (July 1, 1930 – April 21, 1987) was a Slovene academic sculptor. He lived and worked in Ljubljana.

Gorazd Sotler was born on July 1, 1930 in Šentrupert na Dolenjskem. His family later moved to Ljubljana. As a child, he learned to play the violin and he showed great drawing talent from an early age, which was confirmed by one of the famous sculptors of that time, Boris Kalin.