Between December 4–18, 2024, the Gross Arnold Gallery expands into the neighboring KultPont Community Space, and in these two spaces we present the chamber version of our exhibition “Gross Arnold 95 – Journeys to Real and Imaginary Landscapes”, in which the fabulous stations of Arnoldian journeys come to life — from Gross Arnold’s early, monochrome, true-to-nature landscapes, through the minutely detailed, multi-dimensional fantasy dioramas adorned with minerals, to the great cities teeming with countless figures.

opening: December 3, 2024, 6 p.m., opened by art historian Emese Révész
on view: December 4–18, 2024, weekdays 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
1111 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 46.

The works of Gross Arnold (1929–2015), the Kossuth Prize-winning Hungarian graphic artist and painter honored with the Artist of the Nation award, are known throughout the world; generations have grown up marveling at his minutely detailed pictures, colored with a unique technique founded on his renewal of the art of etching. On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of his birth, we present themes of the artist that span his entire oeuvre: from the family home, the sheltering scene of his childhood years in Turda (Torda), and the garden, then the visual evocation of the Turda region, we move in ever-widening circles toward the landscapes and cities of Transylvania, Hungary and abroad, and finally toward imaginary realms.

Main themes: Native Land – Torda and the Aranyos Region / Wanderings in Hungary / Journeys in the Wide World / Imaginary Gardens and Realms /

The exhibition was assembled from the material of the ten-year-old Gross Archive, spanning Gross Arnold’s entire oeuvre from 1947 all the way to 2001: drawings, linocuts, black-and-white and color etchings, phase prints, dioramas, watercolors and oil paintings are on display. The works are accompanied by texts edited by Gross András, drawing on Emese Révész’s study.

The exhibition is also accompanied by a transgenerational contemporary art installation: the Magic Forest (Varázserdő), a work created for ArtGarden, the renewed art venue of this year’s Sziget Festival — a joint contemporary art installation by Esterházy Art Award winner Katalin Kortmann-Járay and Paul Kortmann together with the Gross Arnold Gallery.

The exhibition will later set out on a journey of its own: from 2025 onward, we plan to present it in Mosonmagyaróvár, Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), Oradea (Nagyvárad) and other cities abroad.

In connection with our exhibition Gross Arnold 95 – Journeys to Real and Imaginary Landscapes, we are holding small-group guided tours (12–15 people) as well as postcard-coloring workshops.

The guided tours are led by Gross András; the registration fee for the event is 2,500 Ft per person. – Participation in the “Dreaming of Colored Inks” coloring workshops is free of charge; you only pay for the postcards colored during the session.
The workshop is recommended for adults and for children from the age of 5, accompanied by a parent.

https://forms.gle/kz91L1G33MU749Um6 – You can register using this form.

Program:

Guided tour – Gross András
Friday, December 6, 2024, 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Dreaming of Colored Inks – coloring workshop
Sunday, December 8, 2024, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Guided tour – Gross András
Thursday, December 12, 2024, 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Dreaming of Colored Inks – coloring workshop
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Guided tour – Gross András, Katalin Kortmann-Járay
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Guided tour and finissage – Gross András
Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 6:30–8:00 p.m.