Kunsthalle Budapest pays tribute to one of the most significant figures of Hungarian abstraction, Tihamér Gyarmathy (1915–2005), with an anniversary exhibition. Forty years after the landmark 1986 presentation at the Kunsthalle—an exhibition that played a decisive role in the canonization of this long-silenced master—the current show reexamines and reinterprets his oeuvre from the perspective of historical distance and within today’s transformed artistic context. A distinctive feature of the exhibition is the visual dialogue it establishes between Gyarmathy’s works and those of internationally renowned contemporaries, including Hans Arp, Paul Klee, Max Bill, Joan Miró, and Étienne Beöthy.
Organized across four halls, the exhibition guides visitors from the artist’s early figurative roots to the cosmic visions of his mature period. At its core are Gyarmathy’s diverse sources of inspiration: his travels in Western Europe; the circles associated with the European School and the Group of Abstract Artists; the international exhibitions held in Paris and Hungary in 1947; Ernő Kállai’s theory of bioromanticism and the hidden forms of the microcosm; the photogram experiments inspired by László Moholy-Nagy; and the influence of Lajos Kassák and the pure geometry of Constructivism.
The arc of the exhibition leads from the bioromantic vision that laid the foundations of Gyarmathy’s art to the mature abstract works that explore the hidden interconnections of the universe. In these works, Gyarmathy sought to evoke a sense of Totality, to touch the Universe, to search for the meaning of existence, and to make the Invisible visible. The exhibition culminates in the final hall with the revelation of a ‘mental space,’ where the artist’s distinctive syncretic worldview—his integration of diverse religious and philosophical influences—comes to life. Alongside paintings that draw upon the macrocosm, visitors encounter a reconstruction of the artist’s former studio and object collection, interpretable as a model of the world, offering deeper insight into his complex inner universe.
Gyarmathy’s art represents a unique synthesis of organic vitality, geometric order, and spiritual freedom. These different perspectives do not exclude each other but rather enhance one another. Today, his oeuvre may appear distant or challenging to younger audiences. This exhibition seeks to bridge that gap by encouraging a rediscovery of his life’s work and offering a fresh, contemporary interpretation of Gyarmathy’s work.
Curator: Gréta Garami
Co-curator: Botond Szathmári
cover image:
Tihamér Gyarmathy: Consonance, 1969, 90x122cm, oil on wood fiberboard, courtesy of the Janus Pannonius Museum