The exhibition is an important event in several respects in terms of the history of contemporary art in Hungary over the past decades, as it is rare in Hungarian museum history for an initiative to result in such a large number of high-quality works of art being deposited with art institutions throughout the country. From the perspective of the Hungarian art scene, it is therefore significant that the 1422-piece collection created by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), the national art collection, will be distributed among 29 institutions outside Budapest, with the exception of the Museum of Fine Arts and Hungarian National Gallery. During the expansion of the bank’s collection, Hungarian art historians and experts made recommendations to create a representative collection of works that focuses primarily on the abstract endeavours of the past half-century. The works thus included fill numerous gaps in the collections of the recipient institutions, and this deposit also significantly strengthens the museum presence of the 93 artists.
The exhibition Untold Stories, which closed in mid-October at Modem, provided a comprehensive overview of the works that enriched museums outside Budapest between 1989 and 2024. The diversity and quality of the works on display proved that there are many significant works in public collections outside the centre. Furthermore, through various data visualizations and animations, visitors were able to gain an insight into how the acquisition practices of individual regional actors had developed in the decades following the change of regime. This revealed that the participating institutions had not recently been in a financial position to build their collections in a conceptual manner, so the number of their artworks had grown mainly through donations.
The Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery, as the depository designated by the Hungarian National Bank for the entire collection, entrusted MODEM, as the initiator of the Untold Stories exhibition, with coordinating the professional and democratic distribution of the collection, approximately 90% of which was to be placed in regional institutions. This was followed by a long and intensive process in which representatives of the institutions consulted with each other to decide where each work would be deposited.
In preparing this exhibition, it was important that the institutions themselves select from a shortlist the newly acquired works that they consider to be the most significant in terms of their art collection. The final curatorial selection was made by combining these individual decisions.
The resulting compilation provides a broad overview of the former collection of the Hungarian National Bank, while also showcasing the additions to the various public collections, which, in accordance with the owner’s wishes, will be donated to museums in the coming years.
Artists: Bak Imre, Batykó Róbert, Reigl Judit, Molnár Vera, Lakner László, Andreas Fogarasi, Károlyi Zsigmond, Csató József, Pintér Dia, Aatoth Franyo, Barabás Zsófi, Anthony Vasquez, Frey Krisztián, Gellér B. István, Hortobágyi Endre, Lantos Ferenc, Mengyán András, Fajó János, Halmi-Horváth István, Almásy Aladár, Cseke Szilárd, Korniss Dezső, Keserü Ilona, Szirtes János, Nádler István, Horváth Lóczi Judit, Fridvalszki Márk, Balázs Nikolett, Kondor Attila, Veszely Ferenc, Gross Arnold, Szabados Árpád, Felsmann István, Góth Martin, Kis Róka Csaba, Melkovics Tamás, Szabó Menyhért, Szőke Gáspár, Bernáth Dániel, Rákóczy Gizella, Bullás József, Maurer Dóra, Gáspár György, Kóródi Zsuzsanna, Bóbics Diána, Ernszt András, Szentgróti Dávid, Major Kamill, Polgár Rózsa, Gáspár Annamária, Csáji Attila, Jovanovics Tamás, Konok Tamás, Reigl Judit, Tomasz Piars, Jovánovics György, Nemes Márton, Tóth Anna Eszter, Hencze Tamás, Tivadar Andrea, Szinyova Gergő, Somody Péter, Baráth Áron, Kusovszky Bea, Moizer Zsuzsa