Gulyás Katalin et al. (szerk.): Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 23. (Szolnok, 2014)
Művészettörténet - Egri Mária: Sváby Lajos esszéi
TISICUM XXIII. - MŰVÉSZETTÖRTÉNET Mária Egri Lajos Sváby’s essays Lajos Sváby was awarded with Kossuth and Munkácsy Prizes and the title of a Meritorious Artist. From 1975, he acted as a teacher of the College of Fine Arts, and between 1990 and 1995 as the president of the college; in 2005 he won a prize for his oeuvre awarded by fellow artists, and the Prima Primissima Prize. His pieces can be found in public and private collections, the most important ones being the János Damjanich Museum of Szolnok, the Petőfi Museum of Literature and the Hungarian National Gallery. His expressive and powerful painting stands out from our contemporary fine art with its definite character. He created a style in our painting which had a wide ranging impact from the mid 70’s not only on young artists but also on his own generation. His compositional ideas and picturesque achievements orbit around human relationships, joy, embarrassing situations, states of soul, psychological inhibitions and cramps becoming more and more complicated with time. He published his collection of selected essays titled Sentiments, Memories and Images in connection with the retrospective exhibition organised by the University of Fine Arts in September. Sváby’s unique intellectuality opens up in front of the eyes of the reader revealing the mechanism of his thinking. He selects from his wide and rich readings according to associated ideas putting similar statements next to one another. As in the case of his painting, his essays are supplied by the movement of associations that springs from his personality. He does not cite other authors to bridge the gaps of his thinking; he does not even think to show off his literacy. The unique and expressive style of his essays is characterised by his unusual use of vocabulary. He is a master of visualizing good or band moments at a pin-point both with paint and words. Some of his expressions make the visual imagination of the reader move: they are not only representing facts, but also embrace his endless empathy and love. Like in his painting, his writing is characterised by his personality. He apparently enjoys writing, the inherent humour and every sentence instantaneously becomes a picture. A picture that can be narrated or acted out, and their gestures, grimaces and mimics can be adapted to his paintings. 284
