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“Baselitz. Preview with Review”
More than 80 works by contemporary German artist Georg Baselitz – including abstract paintings, monumental sculptures, and prints – are on view at the Hungarian National Gallery as part of the museum’s ongoing series that aims to highlight the works of German masters. The gallery’s current “Preview with Review” exhibition spans Baselitz’s early works from the 1960s, canvases capturing upside-down visions, and many masterpieces from the painter’s “Remix” series that he started in 2005 to recreate some of his works that portray characters of a post-WWII era. A huge skeleton-shaped sculpture bids farewell to visitors, an installation Baselitz recreated for this specific exhibition in Budapest.
Dates: April 1st – July 2nd
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KOGArt Ház
Even in our current era, slavery still affects a lot more people than we might think, and the number of forced and unpaid laborers amounts to approximately 46 million people worldwide. Now, Budapest’s Kogart House presents a collection of photographs that portray this heartbreaking phenomenon, all shot by Lisa Kristine, an American humanitarian photographer who has been capturing exploited or enslaved workers worldwide over the past decade, mostly in poverty-stricken Third World countries. Looking at the distressing depictions, we see people panning for gold in Ghana, Indian textile makers, or glimpse into the brothels of Sonagachi, Asia’s largest red-light district.
Dates: February 20th – April 30th
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3/7
35th Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition
Enter the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center to view a stirring exhibition with more than 360 photographs that capture important issues, achievements, and conflicts in Hungary during the past year. However, instead of playing with viewers’ levels of tolerance – like we usually see at the World Press Photo Exhibition – the displayed images aim to show the beauty in relationships, humanity, and valor, including carefree youth taking over Budapest’s closed-down Liberty Bridge or photos taken underwater in Széchenyi Bath. However, several images portray themes that are less cheerful, including poverty, medical issues, or such moving events like the ongoing refugee crisis.
Dates: March 28th – May 28th
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4/7
“Bocskor, Boot, Paduka – Adventures in Footwear”
Budapest’s stately Museum of Ethnography on downtown’s Kossuth Square is currently home to an expansive collection of traditional footwear from around the world, a display that includes quaintly unique pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries, like bark slippers, boots made of fish skin, or miniature lotus shoes designed to be worn on crippled lotus feet, according to an ancient Chinese tradition. This fascinating assortment of footgear is displayed thematically across several exhibition halls, and visitors are provided with plenty of English-language descriptions of the items on display.
Dates: March 5th – November 30th
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“Flashing Mona Lisa – Horus Archives”
Step into the world of randomly brilliant images and admire photographs taken by amateur shutterbugs who accidentally captured scenes that elevated these snapshots to become part of a vast collection owned by Hungarian cinematographer Sándor Kardos. The photographs now on display at the Hungarian House of Photography depict varied scenes that piqued the collector’s interest for portraying people or situations in a mistaken concept. Among the pictures on show, we see the “Mona Lisa” captured with a flash to leave the shot with a giant patch of light, alongside several mysterious “ghost images” where another person’s figure faintly appears on the final image.
Dates: March 4th – May 14th
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“Non-Aligned Art – Marinko Sudac Collection”
Exhibiting pieces from the comprehensive private collection of Zagreb-based art collector Marinko Sudac, Budapest’s Ludwig Museum now showcases a wide range of avant-garde art forms originating from the former Yugoslav states. With the main focus on the Cold War era, the exhibited items include abstract paintings, surreal sculptures, and powerful photographs, along with varied video installations and placards. The collection serves as a systematic exploration of avant-garde practices that have been forbidden due to historical, social, and political circumstances in Central and Eastern Europe.
Dates: March 23rd – June 25th
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“Art Deco in the Puszta”
Fans of architecture can view a comprehensive selection of photographs that depict the intriguing Art Deco buildings designed by Magyar architect István Sajó in the 20th century. Despite his successful career in the USA, Sajó returned home to Debrecen to transform the city into an Art Deco haven with modern buildings that popped up among the neo-Classical houses that already lined the streets. Visitors at Budapest's Kunsthalle can view portrait photos of Sajó’s former office equipped with furniture that he designed himself, while a virtual walk takes the audience into the architect’s buildings, including around the intricate stairwell of the Jewish apartment block in central Debrecen.
Dates: April 7th – June 4th
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