Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 105. (Budapest, 2006)
ANNUAL REPORT - A 2006. ÉV - KATA BODOR: Re:mbrandt: Contemporary Hungarian Artists Respond
REMBRANDT: CONTEMPORARY HUNGARIAN ARTISTS RESPOND 6 July, 2006 - 24 September, 2006 Chief Curator: Krisztina Jerger Curator: András Rényi REMBRANDT. KORTÁRS MAGYAR MŰVÉSZEK VÁLASZOLNAK [REMBRANDT: CONTEMPORARY HUNGARIAN ARTISTS RESPOND], ED. R E N YI AN DR AS. EXHIBITION GUIDE. HUNGARIAN TEXT. BUDAPEST 2006. ISBN 963 06 1430 8 Are the ideas inherent in Rembrandt's paintings made four hundred years ago still relevant today? This question was posed to contemporary Hungarian artists by curator x\ndrás Rényi and by art historians. The exhibition entitled "Rembrandt 400", organised by Teréz Gerszi and dedicated to Rembrandt's four hundredth birthday, provided a platform for an actual dialogue between the invited artists and the curator, and an imaginary one between the works made in Rembrandt's time and those of the twenty-first century. It is not unique in the history of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest to display works in an exhibition that were created thanks to the inspiration of the invited curator. In the '90s the museum twice invited contemporary artists to respond to a classic master's œuvre with a work of their own. (In 1991 István Barkóczi organised an exhibition entitled "Homage à El Greco", while in 1994 Dr. Andrea Czére organised another entitled "Piranéző—Paraphrases of Piranesi".) Eighteen artists responded to the invitation on the occasion of Rembrandt's four hundredth birthday. According to the various intentions of the artists, the topics of their pieces drew parallels with some of Rembrandt's ideas and masterpieces, or conversely they confronted them. From the list of the exhibiting artists it is clear that the organisers wished to present a picture of the most prominent artists of contemporary art in Hungary; and at the same time it demonstrates that the Museum of Fine Arts is open to works that are both varied and far removed from its traditional scope of interest. In the exhibition, a wide range of w r orks: paintings, graphics, space and video installations were displayed demonstrating that Rembrandt was an inspiring and visual source not only for painters and graphic designers, but for other kinds of artists too. The technology available today makes it possible for Rembrandt's art to assume a modern form. An interesting example of this is Péter Forgács's computer video installation Ida/közben (Mean/time) —Rembrandt'sMorphs, in which the artist animated Rembrandt's self-portraits. In his so-called morph program, based on previously selected points of similarity, Forgács superimposed the digitalized versions of
