Master Woodcarver Maks Bergant and Plečnik: The Charm of Wood

Master Woodcarver Maks Bergant (1912–1996) was a successor of the old woodcarving tradition, in which knowledge was passed on from master to assistants and apprentices through mentorship. He learned the craft in Kamnik under master Ivan Klemen, but it was his collaboration with architect Jože Plečnik that had the deepest influence on his development and artistic formation.

After World War II, Bergant and Plečnik were brought together in the restoration of the Church of St. Benedict in Stranje by the then-parish administrator, Father Martin Perc. This marked a decisive moment for Bergant, giving him crucial encouragement for his future work. Their collaboration significantly expanded his artistic abilities and shaped his later artistic path.

The guest exhibition by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana – Plečnik House – introduces the wider public to the lesser-known oeuvre of Bergant and the later works of Plečnik. Their collaboration is well documented through personal correspondence, sketches by both Plečnik and Bergant for woodcarvings, and archival photographs from the post-war period, preserved in the private collection of the Bergant family and in the MGML Plečnik Collection. Selected masterpieces of Bergant’s woodcarving from private collections will also be on display.

As Ana Porok, curator of the Plečnik House and author of the exhibition, stated:
“We are very pleased that the exhibition, which premiered in February at the Plečnik House, is now being hosted in Kamnik – the town where Maks Bergant created his entire artistic oeuvre. His woodcarvings remain present here – whether in family ownership or publicly displayed, such as in the church on Šutna or in the Church of St. Benedict in Stranje. The latter, in particular, is considered one of the highlights of the creative dialogue between the two masters – Bergant and Plečnik.”

The exhibition invites visitors to take a deeper look into the mastery of wooden ornamentation and artistic collaboration, which continues to inspire today through its respectful intertwining of tradition and personal artistic vision.