Oskar Kogoj was born in
Miren, then part of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He went to a high school that specialises in design in
Ljubljana[1] and studied in the industrial design program (
Italian: Corso Superiore di Disegno Industriale) at the
Art Institute of Venice (
Italian: Istituto Statale d'Arte di Venezia). He graduated in 1966.[2]
Until 1969, he was employed at the institute as an advisor for the company
Baby Mark in
Milan. During 1969 and 1970, he worked at the Research and Design Department of the
Meblo furniture company in
Nova Gorica. He was the supervisor of the Department of Industrial Design at the
International University of Florence and Venice from 1971 to 1975. As a freelance designer, he also designed children's toys for the company
Ciciban and has more recently focused on various objects made out of natural materials, particularly
glass, all the way from simple glasses up to the Venetian horse, which includes revelations during the research of millennial cultures.[clarification needed]
His work is displayed at over 100 museums and collections around the globe.[3] Since 1969, he has received over 40 international awards and recognitions. In 1971, he received the
Prešeren Fund Award for a series of armchair loungers he designed alongside
Stane Bernik,
Janko Sušnik and
Boris Ferlat and were produced by Meblo. He is also a member of multiple international design and art associations, a list which includes the renowned
Circolo Artistico Veneziano from 1996.[4]