Abstract Hungary

A penchant for abstraction when it comes to complex social conditions, a drive to effect change, and a resilience of analysis and representation are all characteristic of Hungary’s art scene since the 1960s, and especially of its “abstract artists.”

The abstracted visual language of Hungarian artists is thematized by the Künstlerhaus in the 2019 exhibition “Ábstract Hungary” by Ákos Ezer, a painter who thematically processes the present-day reality in his home country. This theme is, in fact, a revival, for already in 2017 the venue presented the group exhibition “Abstract Hungary.” With a sweeping selection of twenty-four Hungarian artists, including Imre Bak, Tamás Kaszás, Dóra Maurer, and Zsolt Tibor, the show was devoted to methods of abstraction of varying dialogical nature. The exhibition represented a more broad narrative blueprint of the much discussed term “abstraction” and showed both established and aspiring artistic positions, some of which were exhibited in Austria for the first time. This exhibition catalogue expands these two projects, seeking to consolidate the abstracted view of Hungary.