Tomaž Perko

• Name — Tomaž Perko • Birth Name — Tomaž Izidor Perko • Born — 2 November 1947 • Birthplace — Ljubljana, Yugoslavia • Field — Painting, drawing, conservation • Training — Academy of Fine Arts and Design Tomaž Perko (Tomaž Izidor Perko; born 2 November 1947) is a Slovenian painter and conservationist. He is known for his rare orientationin contrast to his father, Lojze, who as a painter also considered more modern approachesto thoroughly delve into classical painting methods, especially following the example of the famous Dutch masters.

• Illustration — Perko in his studio in Grahovo, below a woodpecker

Tomaž Izidor Perko was born on 2 November 1947 in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, into the numerous family of the Slovenian painter Lojze Perko. He spent his youth in Kamnik, where he attended school from 1954 to 1966, and also completed his high school education. He continued his education at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, where he studied painting and graduated in 1971; it was there that he continued his postgraduate studies in restoration and conservation under Professor Mirko Šubic.

He initially lived in Ljubljana, but since 1981, he has been living and working by Lake Cerknica. He has trained abroad several times, and has exhibited in, among others, Toronto, Vancouver, Stuttgart, Hangzhou, Brielle, Vienna, Dubrovnik, and many other places. Tomaž is completely in love with Rembrandt and the Dutch masters in general, because "they knew how to capture the soul", and he tries to imitate them himself.

He has had numerous exhibitions in his homeland since his first exhibition in Kamnik during his studies in 1970; the exhibition at the National Museum of Slovenia in May 2013 was very popular. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his works. Perko has been exhibiting his paintings since his youth, in conjunction with other artists, and sometimes on his own. He has exhibited both in his homeland and abroad.

section • Painting of the Church of Mary Help of Christians in Rakovnik (Ljubljana). • Image of the martyr Lojze Grozde (1992), which adorned the Slovenian Eucharistic Congress 2010 in Celje on the occasion of Grozde's beatification there. • Chapel in the Salesian home in Trstenik • Stations of the Cross in the new Church of St. Joseph in Ivančna Gorica.