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ANDRÉ KERTÉSZ / GYÖRGY LŐRINCZY: NEW YORK

AUGUST, 4. – SEPTEMBER, 12 2021.
OPENING HOURS: TUESDAY – SUNDAY NOON – 7 P.M.
CLOSED ON MONDAYS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS.

“André Kertész and György Lőrinczy both worked in New York in the 1970s, their albums were published in the same year in Hungary, but these were not the only occasions when their work was presented at almost the same time and place. In the spring of 1984, “outstanding emigrants” were invited to the fourth Budapest Spring Festival. On that instance, Kertész travelled to Hungary as a guest of honour, and his solo exhibition was also organized at the Vigadó Gallery. Almost at the same time, György Lőrinczy’s exhibition titled New York, New York, featuring the photographs of his album published in 1972, was opened at the Fotóművészeti Galéria [Gallery of Photography] – but unfortunately without the artist’s direct involvement due to his early death. The oeuvres of the two artists came to a close at nearly the same time: Kertész died at the age of 92 in 1985, while Lőrinczy died at the age of 46 in 1981. They belonged to different generations and went different ways, creating works of distinct characters with contrasting approaches, that’s why the meeting points of their oeuvres may seem surprising at first …

They became acquainted in New York a few years earlier, when György Lőrinczy travelled to America in 1968 following the invitation of his friends, Edit de Ak and Peter Grass. To get a passport and some foreign currency, Lőrinczy was planning to make a photo album about New York. As her wife, Kati Lőrinczy recalled, he even received a down payment of two hundred dollars from the Corvina Arts and Foreign Language Publishing Company. His album featuring the photographs taken in 1968, titled New York, New York got finally published by Magyar Helikon [Hungarian Helikon Publishing] in 1972. At that time, the atmosphere in New York was defined by the hippies, the Civil Rights struggles of African Americans, drugs and student movements, among others. This environment completely enraptured the Lőrinczys as they roamed the city day and night, attending parties and concerts, and getting to know other artists. At that point, André Kertész had been living in New York for more than thirty years. From the early 1950s he began to photograph with renewed vigour, thereupon his work received international attention, including a large-scale retrospective exhibition at the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris) in 1963, and a solo show in 1964 at the Museum of Modern Art (New York), curated by John Szarkowski …

Meanwhile in Hungary, the official cultural policy of the Kádár Era showed increased interest in Hungarian artists living abroad in the 1960s. Indicating this tendency, the works of Amerigo Tot and Victor Vasarely were presented at solo exhibitions held at the Műcsarnok [Kunsthalle Budapest] in 1969, and a group show curated by Krisztina Passuth titled XX. századi magyar származású művészek külföldön [XX. century Hungarian artists abroad] also took place in 1970. An exhibition titled A magyar fotóművészet 125 éve [125 Years of Hungarian Photography] was held at the Hungarian National Gallery in 1966, featuring a section dedicated to the works of Hungarian photographers living abroad, including several photographs by André Kertész. The Hungarian National Gallery then also organised a solo show for Kertész in 1971, and Corvina published his first Hungarian album in 1972 as part of the Fotóművészeti Kiskönyvtár [Small Library of Photography] series. Kertész referred to these events on the greeting card addressed to György Lőrinczy, quoted previously: “My exhibition will be held next May, but at the same time I would like to publish a little book, as you know …”

To get the full picture of their relationship visit the  exhibition at the MaiManoHouse – Budapest.

CURATORS: IMRE KISS AND FLÓRA JUDIT SCHULLER

THE EXHIBITION IS REALIZED IN COLLABORATION WITH VINTAGE GALLERY. MAI MANÓ HÁZ – BUDAPEST

Source Mai Mano Ház

Overview by Aggie Reiter