Gyermely Art Workshop 30

The Gyermely Art Workshop is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024. To mark the occasion, the artists defining its history and main directions will be presented in the magnificent spaces of the Kunsthalle.

The workshop is run by the Széchényi Art Workshop Foundation, founded by Péter Széchényi, a descendant of the esteemed family, who, true to their tradition of patronage, called it into being for it to serve a noble purpose. After Hungary’s change to democracy, the American-born artist enthusiastically took the initiative to find a place in his ancestral homeland with the main objective to support fledgeling artists; a place that would in time grow into a complex intellectual workshop.

Starting the art workshop was also inspired by a tradition reaching back to the era of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as by the post-Trianon fervour of founding national art colonies. Past decades have proven the success of this initially perhaps daring idea, as the young artists of the 1990s, fresh out of university, at the beginning of their career, have become established creators, recognized with national and international awards, having work in major public and private collections, whose success has been helped by their involvement in the Gyermely Art Workshop.

Since then, Gyermely has seen the emergence of new young artists every year, arriving as part of a cooperation with the fine art universities of Budapest and Eger. Of the nearly 150 artists having spent time in the workshop over the past three decades, we are presenting 67 who have made a significant contribution to its evolution. Since 1998, the centre has been led by artistic director István Stark, visual artist and co-curator of this exhibition, my partner in selecting the works on display.

Gyermely Art Workshop 30

30 Years of the Széchényi Art Workshop Foundation (1994 - 2024)

GALLERIES