Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 15. (Budapest, 1995)

Calendar of events 1994

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1994 Objects d'art from earlier times, outstanding pieces from the oeuvres of different artists, and works by artists from Hungary and abroad all featured in the rich and varied programme of exhibitions which characterized the year 1994. The exhibitions made up -either exclusively or primarily- from items belonging to the Museum's own collections can, for the most part, be placed in the first two categories. They began with the highly successful Hungarian Traditions in Dress, put on by Lilla Tompos; this exhibition was open to the public from March 17 until mid-June. Of the thirty costumes selected from the Museum's Textile Collection, some had never before been seen by the public. The catalogue contained ten colour picture-postcards in addition to a comprehensive study by Lilla Tompos examining the establishment of Hungarian traditions in costume and their evolution from the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Hungarian Television's fine arts department made a ten-minute video film of the exhibition, entitling it Times Gone By, Costumes of the Nobility; after its showing on television, this could also be seen at the exhibition. Clothes made in line with today's fashions by members of the group Modem Ethnicity and exhibited in March and April showed interesting parallels with the older items of attire; some of the designers re-interpret national traditions in their work. Nineteen ninety-four was the centenary of the birth of Géza Gorka (1894-1971), one of the best-known figures in 20th-century Hungarian ceramic art. To mark the centenary a retrospective exhibition was held between March 25 and June 26; this was organized by the art historian Eva Csenkey, who works at the Museum. By presenting typical groups of objects from the 1920s onwards, the exhibition offered an overview of ceramics produced in the artist's studio, which resembled a small-scale workshop in character. In the high-standard catalogue richly illustrated with colour pictures. Lívia Gorka, the artist's daughter and a similarly well-known ceramic artist, wrote a lyrical biographical piece coloured by personal memories, while Eva Csenkey contributed an assessment of his life's work from the scientific point of view. An English-language version of the catalogue was also brought out. From the picture postcard collection in the archives, Piroska ács and Hilda Horváth selected old picture postcards depicting some of the country's regions and stately homes for the exhibition "Greetings..." Picture Postcards in Hungary. This exhibition, which was on for a month and which also contained a few fine examples from József Bedó's private collection, was opened by the architect János Gerle on April 14. On November 25 the Museum put on an exhibition presenting the applied arts work of Lajos Kozma, who achieved a reputation not only in the field of architecture, but also in applied graphics and furniture design. The holding of the exhibition was prompted by the fact that the Museum's collection had recently been augmented by a number of masterpieces by the artist. Eva Kiss, a specialist on late 19th-century and early 20th-century interior decoration at the Museum of Budapest History, put the