Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 27. (Budapest, 2009)
Events 2008
Asiatic Arts. The most important restorations of 37 restorers - about 60 works were presented in an exemplary installation, with ample documentation and a number of interactive elements specifically developed for this exhibition, such as computer-generated 3D reconstructions of damaged objects from the Esterházy Treasury. The material of the exhibition was published in a similarly interactive DVD-ROM. The exhibition was opened on December 11 by Pál Solt, retired President of the Supreme Court of Hungary and by Frigyes König, Rector of the Hungarian University of Art. A number of international exhibitions were also carried out during the year. In Belgium, as part of the international Design Biennale of Liege, an exhibition of Zsolnay ceramics was shown, titled Les céramiques de Zsolnay de LArt Nouveau au Modemisme and shown at the Musée dArt moderne et dArt contemporain de la Ville de Liege from September 26 to October 19. The curator of the exhibition was Orsolya Kovács from the Zsolnay Museum of the Janus Pannonius Museum of Pécs. Much of the material came from Pécs, but another fifty objects were shown from the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts. Ildikó Kálosi of the museum acted as co-curator. László Beke, director of the Art History Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences opened the exhibition. On the 6 t h of October, István Hiller, Minister of Culture and Education opened the two-month long Hungarian HArt Festival in Scotland, the opening event of which was an exhibition at the Collins Gallery at Glasgow. The exhibition - In the Eye of the Storm. Three Stories of Hungarian Craft, Design and Architecture, 1930-1960 - focused on the ceramics of Lili Márkus and on the works of architect-designer Lajos Kozma. The exhibition was the result of the joint efforts of curator Juliet Kinchin (now curator of design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York), a great fan of twentieth-century Hungarian design, as well as Laura Hamilton, director of the Collins Gallery and by descendants of the Márkus family. Éva Horányi of the Museum of Applied Arts played an important role in organization and in selecting loan pieces for the exhibition, which was accompanied by a bilingual publication. Supported by the Hungarian Cultural Institute in London, the exhibition was an important overview of Hungarian architecture, interior design and crafts during the 1930-1940s. From November 12 to March 9, 2009, the Musée Ariana in Geneva, one of the premier museums in Europe dedicated to ceramics and porcelain, staged a major exhibition dedicated to Herend Porcelain (Porcelaine de Herend - Lor blanc de Hongrie). The approximately 200 pieces were selected by curator Roland Blaettler from the Museum of Applied Arts, as well as from the collection of the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. Gabriella Balla from the Department of Ceramics wrote the introductory study to the bilingual (French-English) catalogue of the exhibition. An important recognition of the art historical work in the museum was the awarding of the Opus mirabile Prize to one of our exhibitions. The Prize, which is given each year to the best three art exhibitions in Hungary, was awarded by the Art Historical Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to the exhibition Ottoman Turkish Carpets in the Collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts. Opened in September 2007, and curated by Emese Pásztor, the exhibition received the Prize in a ceremony held at the Hungarian Academy in October, 2008. Judit Pataki 189
