A retrospective show: National Gallery

György Kovásznai, a retrospective show
György Kovásznai, a retrospective show
“György Kovásznai, a retrospective show” is the name of a temporary exhibition in the National Gallery opened June 4th, 2010. The exhibition can be enjoyed until September 26th. If you want to check it out, just use the funicular to reach the Castle hill, and enter into the National Gallery.

György Kovásznai, a retrospective show
National Gallery
June 4 – September 26

Museums of Budapest

Press release:
Kovásznai’s resolute personality laden with a strong calling for the arts was soon to manifest when, at the age of fourteen he announced his family his intention to become a painter at all costs. “The curse-mannerism is something deeply foreign to art.” In retrospect, he thought much positively about the free school run by Piroska Szántó and Jenő Béres, considering their work as a true art pedagogical achievement. “Later on, throughout many years, I was in vain looking for the same charm in my other masters, the Hungarian art practice was characterised by some crossness, mordancy, savage self-destruction, grieving smothered in pipe-smoke.” Between 1950 and 1952, he spent two inspiring years eagerly preparing for the artistic path at the Art High School. The talented classmates are by now acknowledged Hungarian artists: Ilona Keserü, János Major, József Bartl.

“Amidst the most rigorous political surveillance thrived the most incredible artistic and pedagogical dilettantism.” – the artist recalls the times spent at the Art Academy (1952-1957).

During the Stalinist dictatorship, not only the Academy, but also the art scene in general, was expected to serve the prevalent propaganda art under the banner of socialist realism. This is how he reminisced about these experiences two decades later. “The masters enjoyed a total autocracy, although – with all due respect to the exceptions – they were unworthy of any professional title.”

In 1954, his constant confrontations lead him to go away and work in mines (more information about this in room No.2.) In May of 1955, he approached Aurél Bernáth to help him enter the third year of studies. “My practice, memories, and my unchanging determination call for this specific genre of expression.” At the end of his fourth year, shortly before graduation, in the summer of 1957, he was thrown out of school due to unsatisfactory marks.

Preserved Art Treasures: National museum

The art of preserving art is very important, and in this exhibtion hosted by the Hungarian national museum you can see examples of arts preserved. Everything from the past has a cultural value, and that is why it is important to protect and to preserve objects and articles. More information further down.

Preserved Art Treasures
Hungarian National Museum
June 25 – August 13

Budapest museums

Press release:
Since 1996 it has becoming traditional that the diploma works of graduating students of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts Department of Conservators were exhibited in every year. A part of the training process, namely the object conservating education is co-operating with the Hungarian National Museum.

The aim of the exhibition is to declare that all memories of the past -without reference to their present value – are part of our cultural heritage. The exhibited masterworks are supplemented with illustrations which contain a brief historical review, the condition before conservation and a step by step description of the work. Our visitors could follow the process by the help of photo-documentation.

Depero, futurism and more: National Gallery

Depero the Futurist and the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art
Depero the Futurist and the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art

The Hungarian National Gallery, located in the Castle of Buda, opened a new temporary exhibition June 4th named: “Depero the Futurist and the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art.” If this sounds interesting, you better head of to the National Gallery where the exhibition is available between June 4th and August 22nd. More information about the exhibition can be found in the press release further down.

Depero the Futurist and the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art
National Gallery
June 4th – August 22

Museums in Budapest

Press release:
A joint exhibition of the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto and the Hungarian National Gallery with the sponsorship and cooperation of the Italian Embassy in Hungary and the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest, under the Patronage of the Presidents of the Italian Republic and the Republic of Hungary, His Excellency Giorgio Napolitano and His Excellency László Sólyom under the auspices of the Honorable Sandro Bondi, Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities of the Italian Republic.

The year 2009 marked the 100th anniversary of Futurism, with a number of Futurist exhibitions held in various countries. Over the past twenty years there has been growing interest in the art of versatile Futurist painter Fortunato Depero (1892-1960), an ardent follower of Marinetti’s aesthetics. The over 100 works displayed at the Budapest show are on loan from the Museo Fortunato Depero, Rovereto, an integral part of MART, where the collection of works left by the artist to the town is housed. Living in Austrian-controlled Rovereto until 1918, Depero was in fact raised in a Central European milieu. His artistic development was influenced by Symbolism and Expressionism, and also by the schools of Jugendstil and Wiener Werkstätte. During his trip to Rome he established contact with important Futurist painters such as Boccioni, Balla, Prampolini and Marinetti. His Futurist principles were summarized in the manifesto Ricostruzione futurista dell’universo (Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe), co-authored with Giacomo Balla in 1915, proclaiming the re-creation of the universe and the extension of art to all areas of life. Through his Futurist formal experiments he envisaged mobile sculptured constructions utilising the combined impact of movement and sound effects.

In Rome, after making the acquaintance of Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes, Depero designed costumes and stage sets for Igor Stravinsky’s Le Chant du Rossignol (The Song of the Nightingale) and for Balli Plastici (Plastic Dances), a picto-plastic drama co-authored with Gilbert Clavel. Between 1916 and 1919, he left off his abstract art experimentations and went on to work towards a new iconography arising from the world of magic and fantasy. Populating his metaphysical and surreal visions with unique shapes brought to life in his pictures, Depero created a kind of meta-reality.

In the autumn of 1919 he opened his studio-workshop called Casa d’Arte Futurista Depero in Rovereto, where, based on his designs, particularly impressive, decorative tapestries, textiles, furniture, toys and graphic design works were produced. In 1929 he founded another Futurist House in New York where he continued his career as a designer. He undertook significant design commissions for the Italian company Campary, the magazines Vanity Fair and Vogue, and Roxy Theater (advertisement and stage sets). He returned to Italy in October 1930. The paintings he did in that period were inpsired by his American experience, featuring urban motifs, skyscrapers, subways, and mechanical parts as visual elements. After the war he lived in the United States for a while again, but received no more commissions. In 1959 he designed and built the first museum of Italian Futurism, the Museo Fortunato Depero which, completely refurbished as one of MART’s venues, was reopened to celebrate the centenary of Futurism. Depero died in 1960. He left all his works to the town of Rovereto.

Dreamwalkers in India: Applied Arts

Visitors to Budapest can now enjoy the exiting exhibition presenting the works of Sass Brunner and Elisabeth Brunner. In 1929 the ladies followed a dream, and set of to India on foot. They reached the land of their dreams and in this exhibition you can see paintings and other works of the two dreamers leaving for India.  The exhibition can be seen in the Museum of Applied Arts, the beautiful building by Üllöi Út.

Dreamwalkers in India
Museum of Applied Arts
June 19 – August 22

Museums in Budapest

Night of Museums 2010: June 19

Night of Museums Budapest 2010
Night of Museums Budapest 2010

Night of Museums is an annual event in Hungary (though it was arranged twice last year – and it seems like it will be this year as well), and it is a very popular event. In the film “Night at the Museum”, featuring Ben Stiller, the museum turns alive after the sunset. That is what will happen in museums all around Hungary this upcoming Saturday as well. There will be special programs in all museums around in the city. You buy one ticket for the entire program, and with this you can enter into all the different museums in the city, and use the public transportation buses travelling between the different locations.

The adult ticket costs 1300 Forint, the ticket for children is 600 Forint.

The event starts at 18.00 and lasts until around 2:30 in the night.

Participating Budapest museums:
‘Zoltan steamer’ non-profit foundation, ‘Debrecen’ ex-‘Kassa’ Danube-sea ship
Ability Park
Endre Ady Memorial Museum
Collection of Veterinary History
Collection of Regional History of Angyalföld (Budapest 13th district)
Aquincum Museum
Bajor Gizi Actors’ Museum
Stamp Museum
Budapest Center for Architect (FUGA)
Budapest University of Technology and Economics-Jendrassik György Laboratory
Budapest University of Technology and Economics-NTICL
Budapest History Museum
Labyrinth of Buda Castle
The Exhibition Hall of the Csekovszky Collection
Museum of Electrotechnics
Eötvös Loránd University, University Library
E10
Erdős Renée Ház – Public Collection and Art Gallery
Ernst Museum
Lutheran Museum
Gallery Eventuell
Ferihegy Aircraft Memorial Park
Underground Railway Museum
Fonó Budai Music Hall
Gallery Lénia
The collection of local history of the XII. th district
Military History Institute and Museum
Holdudvar Gallery
Holocaust Memorial Center
Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts
Museum of Applied Arts
Kassák Museum
Piety Museum
Museum Kiscell
KOGART House
Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum
Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art
Hungarian House of Photography
Hungarian University of Fine Arts
Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism
Museum of Hungrian Agriculture
Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport
Hungarian National Gallery
Hungarian National Museum
State Archives of Hungary
Hungarian Television Co.
Hungarian Natural History Museum
Hungarian Railway Museum
Hungarian Jewish Museum
Children’s Railway, Budapest
Respect for All – Kossuth Klub
Millenaris
Pál Molnár-C. Studio-Museum
HAS’s Collection of Art
Museum of Music History
Kunsthalle – Budapest
National Dance Theatre
Museum of Ethnography
Museum of Óbuda
Öntödei Múzeum
Hungarian Meteorological Service
National Educational Library and Museum
National Széchényi Library
OSA Archivum/Galeria Centralis (at Central European University)
Pesterzsébet of Museum
Petőfi Literary Museum
Post Museum
The Bartók House of Music in Rákoshegy
Police-history Museum
Semmelweis Museum, Library and Archives of the History of Medicine
SYMBOL Budapest
Szántó Piroska-Vas István Emlékmúzeum
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Hospital in the Rock – Secret Civil Defence Hospital and Nuclear Bunker
Tabán Museum
House of Terror
Tűzraktér Independent Cultural Centre
Museum of the Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard
Vasarely Museum
Former Szikra/Metro Cinema (Ruttkai ÉvaTheatre)
Local History and Schoolmuseum, Pestszentlőrinc (Budapest, XVIII.)
Zwack Unicum Heritage Visitors’ Centre

Museums in Budapest

Event press release:
The eighth Night of Museums, held nation-wide on 19 June, will offer hundreds of programmes and exhibitions to the public.
In keeping with the traditions of major European capitals, Hungary has, since 2003, hosted the Night of Museums on the Saturday closest to Midsummer’s Eve, the longest day of the year. On this day, exhibitions are open after-hours until late at night, and in addition to tours, many other active programmes are available from late afternoon until dawn. A mix of fire juggling, presentations, dance and theatre, special performances, musical events and discussions will be offered nationwide on the Night of Museums.
The first Night of Museums in Hungary only attracted a few thousand people, but by last year, their number had grown to over 380,000 nationwide. This is also the outcome of more and more museums participating each year: a new record will be set this year, with 84 locations available in Budapest and 191 in the country.
Last year, a new tradition was established in the form of the Autumn Night of Museums, which was also well-received by visitors. The initiative was spurred by the huge success of the Night of Museums and by surveys which revelaled that there was public demand for more “Night of Museums” type of events.

Buda in the 19th century: History Museum

Would you like to know more about life in Budapest in the 19th century? This exhibition in Budapest History Museum will give you insight about “Civil society, civil values, and civil morality.” If you want an excuse to visit the Castle in Budapest, this might be a good excuse. More information about the temporary exhibition in Budapest History Museum can be found in the press release below.

Civil society, civil values, and civil morality at Pest – Buda in the 19th century
Budapest History Museum
May 14 – September 19

Press release
Civil society, civil values, and civil morality. Still expressed on many occasions today, these terms conveyed different meanings in the 19th and 20th centuries. Citizens and the set of civil values often became the supreme motif of social and political programmes in modern and contemporary history, hence the crucial deprivation of their original connotation that took place as a consequence of the constant attempts of their redefinition. Who can be regarded as a “true” citizen anyway? What are the prime elements of civil mentality and morality? How did the term “citizen”, which we regard as either an example to follow or an enemy to be destroyed in specific cases even today, come into being? This exhibition has been intended to give answers to the preceding questions.

Museums in Budapest

Alvar Aalto Houses: Museum of Ethnography

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer, sometimes called the “Father of Modernism” in the nordic countries. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware. Now an exhibition has been launched presenting his work in Budapest. Official press release about the exhibtion can be found below:

Alvar Aalto Houses – Timeless Expressions (Chamber Exhibition)
Museum of Ethnography
May 20 – August 1

Museums in Budapest

Press release:
Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is recognized today as one of the masters of modern architecture and the most influential Finnish architect worldwide. The exhibition highlights four one-family houses that form a varied and fascinating entity in Aalto’s extensive output. The buildings presented in the exhibition include The Aalto House, Villa Mairea, Muuratsalo Experimental House and Maison Luis Carré. Elements typical of Aalto, the human scale and strong connection to nature, can be found in all these buildings. At the same time, they reflect the changes that took place in Aalto’s production in general.

“There is a hidden motive, too, in architecture, which is always peeping out from around the corner, the idea of creating a paradise. It is the only purpose of our buildings. If we do not carry this idea with us the whole time, all our buildings would be simpler, more trivial and life would become – well, would life amount to anything at all? Every building, every work of architecture, is a symbol which has the aspiration to show that we want to build a paradise on earth for ordinary mortals.”

Montenegro: Natural History Museum

A new exhibition has been opened at the Natural History Museum near the Üllöi Út in the eight district of Budapest. It is named Montenegro, and it is an exhibition showing the pictures made by Veljko Vujanovic. The pictures will show the beautiful landscape, hills, cliffs, rocks together with pictures from cities, old buildings, important buildings and so on.

Montenegro
Hungarian National History Museum
May 12 – July 30

Museums Budapest

Some Marcipan Museum pictures

On rainy days we often drop by the Marcipan Museum in the Hilton Hotel, just to spend some minutes inside escaping the rain. The entrance fee is only 400 Forint, and it is quite fun to be there, and therefore it is a nice activity during a guided tour on a rainy day.

In May we have had plenty of opportunities to do so, as we have had a lot of rain, and below you can see some pictures from such a visit. More pictures from the Marcipan Museum can be found at the Marcipan Museum page.

Marcipan Museum pictures