Gyula Marosán (1915–2003) was a leading figure in post-World War II Hungarian non-figurative painting and a distinctive representative of lyrical and organic abstraction. His artistic career spanned from the traditions of interwar Hungarian painting through the modern European avant-garde movements to the creation of an independent, consistently structured abstract body of work. His painting is based on a free, intuitive interplay of colors, forms, and lines, in which the organic structures of nature, inner experiences, and the world of the imagination all play a role.
A defining moment in his artistic career was his departure from Hungary 70 years ago, in 1956. He moved first to Vienna, then to the Netherlands, and finally to Canada in 1957. In the new cultural environment of his exile, he was once again able to pursue abstract painting—a style that had been despised in his homeland—which remained at the center of his artistic thinking thereafter. The exhibition *Diary on Painting — Gyula Marosán*, featuring a selection from the Modern Art Gallery — László Vass Collection’s own holdings, presents a unique aspect of the artist’s multifaceted career and his consistently structured body of work.
The personal relationship between art collector László Vass and Gyula Marosán began in the 1990s. As a result of their meeting, the Modern Art Gallery was enriched with numerous works by Marosán. Inspired by the international and Hungarian works of art in the László Vass collection, the painter embarked on a new creative phase, enriching his body of work with numerous geometric compositions rich in color.
Through the art of a significant Hungarian abstract painter, the exhibition also offers an opportunity to explore the inner processes of painting and the independent expressive power of form and color. The artist’s works can be read as pages from a personal, visual diary: visual records in which the artist’s sensitivity, spirit of experimentation, and commitment to painting are all evident. The title of the exhibition refers to this ongoing dialogue. For Gyula Marosán, painting was a form of self-expression that also served as a means of perceiving, interpreting, and recreating the world.