Klemmné Németh Zsuzsa szerk.: Gorka Kerámiamúzeum, Verőce (PMMI kiadványai - Kiállítási katalógusok 10. Pest Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága)

GÉZA GORKA Gork „habános Géza: Tálka két füllel motívumokkal, 1938 k. was born in Nagytapolcsány in 1894. He spent his childhood near the home of Haban ceramics (Holies, Oszombat, Modor) then the family moved to Mezőtúr, the Hungarian village famous for its pottery. The young Géza Gorka learnt the basics of pottery from the most famous Hungarian master potter, Balázs Badar. The impulse drew him from his original course, which was to become a painter. He regarded 1917 as the beginning of his career as a ceramist. After a short detour in Germany, where he got acquainted with the new trends of European ceramics as well as the latest technologies (shrunk glaze)

, he was invited to Nógrádverőce in 1923, where he established "Keramos Co.". First, he became the technical manager then the director of the company. Géza Gorka got married to Irén Kovács in 1924 in Verőce. The young couple moved in the villa built by the wife's family in 1884. Owing to change of ownership at the head of Keramos Corporation, Gorka could not tolerate the change in line. He left the company and built a workshop in the garden of the villa in Nógrádverőce. The "Keramos Corporation" soon went bankrupt. In the early period of his career, he drew on the forms and motive treasure of folk and Haban pottery. Because of the strong intensity of colours, he changed leadglazed technique for majolica then crazed glaze. As he got to the art of ceramics from a potter's craft, functional objects always remained important for him. Even his figurai plastics had some functional role (vase, book support, garden flower-stand). Technical, technological innovations, permanent experiments widi materials and glazes played an important part in Géza Gorka's lifework. The most important characteristic feature of his art is the perfect interdependence and interrelation of material, form, colour and pattern. Whatever he drew upon, he changed everydiing according to his own taste to look „Gorkaian". The latter expression was used by a contemporary critic referring to Géza Gorka's special individual application of Haban motif treasure. By the 1930s, he had already used crazed glaze method beside running glazing ~ . „, ... , , , „ technique. In 1935, he developed sgrafitto Gorka Géza: Vaza „habanos 1 r díszítéssel, 1938 k. technique. A few years later, he participated