Oman Valentin was born in 1935 in St. Stefan/Šteben bei Villach in Carinthia. From 1958 to 1962 he studied with Professor Hilda Schmid-Jesser at what has now become the University for Applied Arts in Vienna. In 1963 he completed a special class in printed graphics with Professor Riko Debenjak at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. In addition to numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, Valentin Oman has produced a large number of works for official spaces, including the artistic design of the Federal Gymnasium for Slovenia in Klagenfurt and the wall painting and the Piran Way of the Cross in the church at Tanzenberg/Plešivec. He has been awarded numerous prizes and honours, including an honorary doctorate at the University of Klagenfurt. He holds an Honour Cross for Science and Art 1^st Class and has received the Golden Order of Merit from the Slovenian state. He lives and works in Vienna and Finkenstein/Bekštanj.