Artportal.hu

[BÓ Kati]

(4. October 1950., Salgótarján – )

Katalin Bódi was born into an all-musician gypsy family with five children. Apart from residing next door to János Balázs, she also piled up a great deal of unforgettable childhood memories at the famous Cigánydomb (Gypsy Hill). She showed clear interest in arts, but her circumstances prevented her from pursuing any studies in this field. She graduated as the very first gypsy student from the local Secondary School of Commerce and Catering as a cook and confectioner. She worked in this field from the age of 18, from 1971 in the Nemzeti Szálló (National Inn), then in the Fészek Club, and finally as the chef of the cold meal section in Merkúr Restaurant, from where she retired.

She started painting in 1992, after the death of her husband, Jenő Bódi, the well-known violist. She took up the pseudonym Kati Bó. From that time on, she has been educating herself, and has regularly participated in the workshops of Roma fine artists. She exhibited several times together with her peers at the Balázs János Gallery. She presented of her paintings in the National Art Hall at the 2004 exhibition, titled The Hidden Holocaust, and also in dresden at a comparable international exhibit staged to commemorate the holocaust, as well as in several galleries in Budapest.