Saly Noémi (szerk.): Gorka Lívia keramikusművész (Budapest, 2010)
Kollin András: Bibliográfia
szembenéző madárfigurával, "Vases with bird and fish motifs, Wall plate with two facing bird figures'' [Cat. no.6-9, 25, 35]). She took part in her first ever exhibition in 1955 in the Fiatal Iparművészek ("Young Applied Artists”) exhibition at the Ernst Museum.11 She exhibited a fruit bowl, a coffee set and a five-piece toiletry set. Following that she regularly took part in joint exhibitions at home. Her appearance on the 3rd National Applied Arts Exhibition (Budapest, Műcsarnok, 1955) caused quite a stir. Critics branded her with the worst charge of the times, formalism. In 1958 at the exhibition of "the five” in the István Csók Gallery, she jointly exhibited her works with other applied artists.12 She appeared with a totally new, unique style, which distinguished her from both her father and the works of other ceramic artists. Her varied themed and functioned works caused a general feeling of surprise. Her traditionally wheel-thrown and irregularly shaped bowls were decorated with dynamically drawn animal figures and cockerel heads. [Cat.: 34, 37]. Already, her hand-kneaded objects were often regarded as "sculptural bowls”.13 Her bird vases, in splendid but demure black, yellow and red, mirrored her new approach [Cat.: 56a] Her masks, depicting stylised female heads and designed to be hung on the wall, were revolutionary to Hungarian applied art [Cat.: 50-52|.14 These and her other wall ceramics tell of her superior drawing skills. The surfaces were filled with buffalo, ducks, zebras, fish and aquatic vegetation, all drawn with determined, steady strokes (Kerámialap, "Ceramic tile").'3 In addition to the ability to capture the essence of form and her determined, sure style of painting, her horse, zebra and other animal figures also reveal a talent for humour, and onto them she also applied foreign materials such as bent metal wire and pebbles from the Danube [Cat. no. 55-56]. The engraving lent a positively plastic, high relief-like surface to her decorative objects. Very early in her career she recognised the temptation and danger of becoming an epigone of her father, she searched for her own path and style. She wanted more than a simple wheel-thrown form. She saw through her father's works, both the technical and artistic limitations of working clay using the traditional method. Rather than using the wheel, she began kneading her ceramic material by hand, forming and decorating it using various tools and utensils. This method of creation best suited her impulsive nature. An early knowledge of the famous Bidtel catalogues and the various qualities of glaze, as well as continuous work and practice all provided her with a strong professional knowledge and a firm base for further development. Her intellectual interest was the other reliable guide on her path towards becoming an artist. In the beginning, her father's art and assessment were the standard, and it was from here that she moved forward in the search for new direction. At the 4"1 National Applied Arts Exhibition held in the Műcsarnok in 1959, she took part with only a very few objects.16 Other than this she took part in the following national exhibitions: 5th National Applied Arts Exhibition, Budapest, Műcsarnok, 1965; Mai magyar kerámia (Contemporary Hungarian Ceramics), Siklós, Castle, 1968; 6th-\0th National Ceramics Biennial, Pécs, 1968— 1972, 1976, 1980-1988; ]ubileumi Iparművészeti kiállítás (jubilee Applied Art Exhibition), Budapest, Műcsarnok, 1970, 1975. She was extremely prolific, receiving several significant commissions from the Képcsarnok Vállalat (State Art Gallery Company) and the Artex Külkereskedelmi Művészeti Vállalat (Artex Foreign Trade Art Company).17 These vases, bowls, plant pots, small ashtrays and pots, etc. can be categorised into one of two groups (the vases, ashtrays and smaller items produced in large numbers are well defined from the atypically formed vases and ceramics), even if all of her works are themselves unique items. The creator of these works was not intent on producing something useful or practical, but on creating something decorative. During this creative period of her life she was primarily interested in creating the image of house and home, and this approach also defined her ceramic works in the late 50's and early 60's.18 We are familiar with several wheel-thrown vases and other objects from this period, which although signed be her, can almost be categorised as "production line” pieces. She often received finished, fired objects, which she then painted and fired with glaze. Her decorative items in light, low-key pastel colours and usually adorned with animals (fish, cockerels, etc.) were made using a special technique similar to wax-resist dyeing or the traditional 37
