Biography

Handi Behrič (BeART)

Handi Behrič (1960), born in Mrcelji, lives and creates in Mengeš, Slovenia. He is an academic painter, printmaker, visual communications designer, and a pioneer in digital art. In his work, he masterfully bridges academic depth with contemporary technological approaches. Holding a Master of Arts degree (summa cum laude), he works as a Senior Lecturer at the School of Drawing and Painting (Art House) in Ljubljana, where he teaches contemporary art theory, digital painting, and new iconography. He adeptly follows global artistic trends and has established himself internationally, earning numerous awards and accolades. His work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions both locally and abroad. He actively participates in international art colonies (Likovni extempore) and regularly contributes to humanitarian projects, most notably the Umetniki za Karitas (Artists for Charity) colony, donating his artwork for charitable causes.

Professional and Academic Path
The foundations of his artistic and design expertise date back to 1987, when he graduated from the Secondary Media and Graphic School in Ljubljana. His exceptional talent and professionalism were recognised immediately; that same year, he joined the production workflow at his alma mater and, after passing his pedagogical-andragogical examination, began teaching theoretical and practical aspects of graphic printing. He gained invaluable experience with traditional printing techniques—including working with lead type, woodcuts, and film—at the Jože Moškrič printing house in Ljubljana, where he refined his sense of form, structure, and material.
In 1990, he founded his own company, Artline. As one of the pioneers of computer-aided design in Slovenia, he led numerous visual communication projects. He collaborated with prominent national and international corporations, including Lexus, Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault, Nissan, Scania, Volvo, Würth, and Velux, as well as institutions such as the European Union, the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation, and the Municipality of Mengeš.
He advanced his academic path with a Bachelor’s degree (2015) and a Master’s degree (2017) from the School of Drawing and Painting in Ljubljana, receiving the highest distinction, summa cum laude, for his master’s thesis. Today, he serves as a Senior Lecturer at the same institution, while also working as a developer and IT administrator for advanced educational platforms used by students and faculty.
Under the artistic moniker BeART, he actively explores the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), generative art, and augmented reality technology (WebAR). His projects have been featured in prestigious festival programmes, such as Ars Electronica, as well as exhibitions in Vienna, Paris, and Canada. Despite his technological forwardness, his work remains deeply rooted in humanism and the search for spiritual substance in the digital age.

Art Philosophy: The Intersection of Tradition, Spirit, and Technology
The core of Handi Behrič’s creative work is the exploration of spiritual expressive form and its substance, captured within the matter that reveals itself as the world. His visual language subtly enters the realm of the subconscious—into the very idea of the spirit—and gives it material shape. In doing so, he grants the viewer insight into the invisible dimensions of existence and into their own interiority.
The author views visible nature and humanity as a seed; however, the sprout or its internal impulse—a hidden light in the darkness—remains a veil that art uncovers only gradually. It is precisely this space between the visible and the invisible that constitutes his primary creative domain. Despite his masterful command of modern digital platforms (NFTs, generative art, AI, Web3), Behrič critically warns against the limitations of technology. His mission is to minimise human dependency on algorithms and preserve the human creative spirit, ensuring that humanity does not become a mere extension of the machine.

Innovations and International Success
As BeART, the author actively co-shapes the future of contemporary art. Through his collaboration with the London-based technology company Exactly.ai, he contributed his extensive painting portfolio to the development of advanced AI models for book illustration, as well as for other commercial and artistic projects.

Selected Achievements and Awards:
• 2025 – Selected for the international digital group online exhibition Emptiness, Canada.
• 2024 – Acquisition Prize for the WebAR artwork Absolute Intelligence (Artivive, Vienna).
• 2024 – Invited as the Slovenian representative to the prestigious commercial art platform 13AM Studio (Dubai), which aims to represent every country in the world through a single selected artist.
• 2023 – Ranked among the top 100 most influential AI artists globally (Exactly.ai, London).
• 2022 – Awarded artwork at the international Artivive Canada–Austria exhibition (project Connect, augmented media/AR).
• 2022 – Selection for the exhibition in Paris as part of the Digital Art Month (project NOWAR).
• 2022 – Author and collaborator with the School of Drawing and Painting for the project NATURA 2022 – BEES (Ruše, Slovenia).
• 2021 – Conceptual design and participation in the international online exhibition The Sower Returns with the art group Newseed.
• 2021 – Selection and presentation at the world-renowned Ars Electronica festival (Linz).
• 2020 – Innovative design and material contribution to the development of the Zupan Accordion (Mengeš), which received multiple international accolades and is inscribed in the national register of intangible cultural heritage.
• 2017 – Awarded the SUMMA CUM LAUDE distinction for his master’s thesis entitled “Man and Art”.
• 2004 – Recipient of the Golden Palette award by the Union of Fine Arts Associations of Slovenia (ZLDS) for printmaking.
• 2004 – Audience Award at the XV International Fine Arts Extempore Izola.
• 2000 – 2nd Prize for fine arts, Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Cultural Activities (JSKD).
• 1981 – Selection for the International Biennial of Caricature, Gallery of the National Museum Kragujevac.

Social Responsibility and Philanthropy
Throughout his career, Handi Behrič has regularly participated in humanitarian projects, charity art colonies, and initiatives by primary schools and other non-governmental organisations, actively contributing to social welfare and promoting visual arts culture among youth.

Vision and Conclusion
Today, Handi Behrič remains one of the few artists who commands traditional painting mediums, classical printmaking, complex AI algorithms, and digital art with equal proficiency. His ultimate goal is clear: to give meaning to the human condition in an era of radical technological transformations.
He remains committed to a powerful, communicative visual language, humanism, and fundamental spiritual values. His work serves as a critical reminder, setting boundaries to technological dominance and safeguarding human inner creative development from the dangers of digital alienation and uniformity. In the realm of the digital world, he firmly believes that the human creative spirit must remain free and untouched.