Kertész Róbert - V. Szász József - Zsolnay László szerk.: Szolnoki művésztelep 1902-2002 - 100 éves a szolnoki művésztelep (2001)

The Artist's Colony of Szolnok 1902-2002

From World War II till today Life started again in Szolnok after 4th November 1944 when the fighting finished. From the first minute of reconstruction great care was taken of the restoration of the colony as well. In 1946 the Artistic Association came to life again, recruitment of members and organizing began. In May 1947 a spacious exhibition was organized, which gave an impulse to further reconstruction. As part of cultural days they showed the cross-section of the past of the fine art of Szolnok called Szolnok in Hungary's Fine Art. The regular members who exhibited their works included Aurél Bernáth, Barna Basilides, Zoltán Borbereki Kovács, Ferenc Chiovini, Kálmán Gáborjáni Szabó, Eszter Mattioni, Béla Vidovszky and Lajos Szlányi. Next to the regular members, artists such as Dezső Udvary, Sándor Baranyó, Jenő Benedek, Sándor Botos, Béla Korda, Mihály Patay, Pál Pátzay and József Koszta also contributed to the exhibition. From this list we can see that several artists were attached to the Artists' Colony of Szolnok who would have welcomed the restoration of their regular or guest memberships. These artists, who were mainly from Budapest, did all they could inside the Association to revive the colony. At the same time in Szolnok another direction gained strength. Ferenc Chiovini, who was responsible for the reconstruction of the colony, tried to carry his point to allocate the studios of the colony to artists who permanently stayed in Szolnok. This intention was supported by a decree that had dispersed all associations in Hungary — including the Artistic Association; and by Ferenc Zsemlye, the mayor of Szolnok, who had worked with Chiovini and Aba-Novák as a builder at the completion of the frescos in the Jászszentandrás parish church. The notable artists of Budapest after the Association had been dispersed lost their support at the colony, and so the first four studios were allocated to Ferenc Chiovini, Jenő Benedek, Mihály Patay and Sándor Botos as permanent inhabitants. In 1952 the Foundation of Fine Arts had two more studios renovated, and they served as temporary dwellings for artists who were invited. The colony, which had been destroyed during the war, started to come to life during the reconstruction. The four studios that were renovated first had permanent occupants, later some other buildings became usable due to the co-operation of the Foundation of Fine Arts, the local government and voluntary workers. At first mainly Budapest artists came here through the Foundation for shorter or longer periods. Later the whole colony was populated with permanent occupants, mainly young artists who finished their studies in the late 50s. In 1956-57 a number of young artists settled down in Szolnok: István Nagy, Ferenc Simon and László Szabó sculptors, Sándor Baranyó, Ferenc Berényi, László Bokros, Magdolna Fazekas, Mihály Gácsi, László Meggyes, Lajos Mészáros and József Palicz painters were the new dwellers. Some of the artists later left the colony, János P. Bak, Jenő Benedek, Sándor Botos and Ilona Antal continued their career in Budapest, Mihály Gácsi and József Palicz went to live in Zalaegerszeg. When in 1974 after Gácsi and Palicz's leaving two studios had become vacant, Csaba Rékassy and Margit Agotha graphic artists moved in. In the first years they were guests, after 1984 they acted as regular members of the colony. Rékassy continued to live here until his death in 1989. From the 30s to 1956 Mihály Patay represented graphic works next to painter István Zádor, who also did a considerable amount of graphics. In the year of Patay's death his follower, Mihály Gácsi appeared at the colony. Apart from the fact that most painters dealt with mimeographic works, before the appearance of Margit Ágotha and Csaba Rékassy at the end of the 70s, only Gácsi and Patay cultivated the graphic genre. Gácsi studied graphics and painting at the College of Fine Arts between 1949 and 1952. He lived in Szolnok until 1947 then he left for Hódmezővásárhely and after that for Zalaegerszeg. In the first years in Szolnok he mostly painted, later from the middle 60s he mainly was engaged in copperplate engraving and lino-cut. In these two genres he belonged to the front-rank artists of the middle generation graphic artists. From the beginning of his career his ironic and grotesque pictures were sometimes interrupted with darker dramatic engravings that expressed his worries about the future of mankind. After the 70s lino-cuts invoking the abhorrence of war, showing the silence after destruction became overwhelming. In the years before his death he resumed painting again, the affection and brush-work of his landscapes tell about his nostalgia towards Dutch pictorial art. He passed away in 1987 in Zalaegerszeg. 144