Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 23. (Budapest, 2004)

Diary of Events 2003

greatest Hungarian potter, was born 175 years ago" paid hommage to him on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 150th of the foundation of the Zsolnay factory in Pécs. Arranged predominantly from the artifacts preserved in the museum, and supplemented by material from the Janus Pannonius Museum, the Baranya County Archives and the Hungarian National Museum, the exhibition only highlit a few details of Vilmos Zsolnay

's rich lifework. Amidst the selection of portraits about Zsolnay, documents about his life and family, prizes attesting the success of his works at exhibitions, the exhibited pieces of art were authentic "citations". At the vernissage of the second museum event of the Budapest Spring Festival '03 on 19 March (open until 1 June) art writer János Sediánszky held the opening speech. Last year's winners of the L. Moholy-Nagy Scholarship in Design founded in 1988 presented their works between 1 and 27 April in the museum. The showing was opened by Dr. Miklós Bendzsel, president of the Hungarian Patent Office and the Hungarian Design Council. The illustrated report of the scholarship holders was edited by József Vadas and finely designed by graphic artist György Kara. In the past few years, the contemporary Hungarian goldsmiths consciously searching for possibilities of professional cooperation have shown their works in collective exhibitions instead of spontaneous parallel actions. Thanks to the efforts of goldsmith Katalin Katona and cultural manager Agnes Fejes, the exhibition of sixty-four goldsmiths entitled "From the Jewellrery to the Sculpture" opened by Kossuth-prize holder ceramic artist Imre Schrammel on 6 May could be visited until 25 June. The National Association of Hungarian Artists also published a catalogue with the study of goldsmith József Péri and a photo of a work by each exhibiting artist. The catalogue was edited by Katalin Katona. "Art of Typography - Children's World. A selection of works from a period of 50 years" was the title of the showing of graphic works for children collected by the outstanding illustrator, graphic artist János Kass with the assistance of textile artist-educator Mrs Ödön Kürthy and Judit Pataki. The exhibition, opened on 3 June by professor István Lengyel of the Universität Essen and the Hungarian University of Crafts and Design, honorary president of the German Association of Industrial Design, could be visited for three months. In addition to the historical glass collection of the museum, visitors could also see some outstanding works by contemporary Hungarian glass designers at the exhibition "The Meaning of Glass". Those who were interested in the medium had the opportunity to compare the Hungarian crop with a neighbouring showing of works by the most talented contemporary Finnish glass designers on from 10 June to 24 August. The glasses, sculptures and installations by the artists involved in the exhibition "Substance and Meaning - Finnish Glass, Tampere Region" - Alma Jantunen, Reima Maaronen, Heikki Orvola, Johannes Rantasalo, Markku Salo, Taru Syrjänen, Inkeri Toikka, Oiva Toikka and Vesa Varrela - as well as items of small, medium and large-series industrial design were united by the history, production and milieu of the Nuutajärvi glass factory. Curated by the director of the glass collection of the Museum of Applied Arts Dr. Vera Varga and organized by the Finnish embassy, the exhibition was also supported by the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage, and the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs of Finland. At the vernissage, second secretary of the Finnish Embassy Anne Saloranta, the secretary general of the Pirkanmaa Art Committee Armas Ketonén and Mihály Pohárnok, director of the Design Center in Budapest delivered speeches. The voluminous catalogue co-edited by MarjoRitta Saloniemi, Hannele Vilomaa, Kaisa Koivisto, Kirsi Rantala, Armas Ketonén and Judit Pataki carried in Hungarian, Finnish and English Vera Varga 's study about the work of the nine exhibiting artists, their biographies and the list of the exhibits with photos. Under the museum moderning program of the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage, the program "Museums for Everyone" was also