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ŠWIERKIEWICZ, Róbert
painter
(29 May, 1942, Pécs –)
Two years at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts; master: Ferenc Lantos. 1980: 1^st prize at the Attila József Commemorative Exhibition; Aszú Award at the Cinema World Competition. 1981: Award of the 7^th National Statuette Biennale, Pécs; grand-award of 11^th Biennale of Graphics, Miskolc; 1985: Award of the 13^th Biennale of Graphics, Miskolc. 1987: FŐFOTÓ Award; Biennale of Small Graphics, Tihany; 1992: Munkácsy Award. 1993: Award of the 17^th National Biennale of Graphics, Miskolc. 1998 Soros Award; 2000: New XERTOX scholarship; India Award by the Orientation Grant. Since the beginning of his career he has been communicating between the artistic styles of the second half of the 20^th century with perfect freedom and a positive sense of uninhibitedness. He is able to make use of diverse variety of mediums in a very content and non-misgiving manner. His work does not therefore have any specific periods; his compositions may rather be classified by the extent of their intensity and subject they encompass. From 1981 he was a participant of the International Mail-Art Movement and in 1982 he founded the XERTOX group. His paintings and assemblages contain motifs of arte-povera, abstract expressionism, pop art, and of the Fluxus. During the 90’s he became more and more interested in oriental, especially Indian culture, due to which his works became enriched with a unique syncretistic design. Swierkiewicz makes use of discovered fragments, in both a mental, a conceptual, and pragmatic sense. The plane of his works thus, painted with almost academic rapture, received a value equal both visually and content wise to that of spotted, chocolate flaked tinfoil, the brush painted copy of a weather forecast, or the redrawn or retouched Polaroid family photograph. Behind the laxity and conscious slubberness of the works lies the purposeful intention of consistently making use chance and the contingent as building blocks in his works. It is due primarily to these traits that the flood of symbols found on the planes of Swierkiewicz’s works are unified into places complementing one another, thus forming a stream of meditation, thanks to which his works convey a strange sense of seriousness and Don-Quixote-like heroism.

One-Man Shows:
1967 • Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs (HU)
1972 • Adolf Fényes Hall, Budapest (cat.)
1975 • Studio Gallery, Budapest • Uitz Hall, Dunaújváros (HU)
1976 • Bercsényi Hall, Budapest • Kassák Club, Budapest
1977 • Lajos Hatvany Museum, Hatvan (HU) • Prizmat G., Krakow
1978 • Atelier Exhibition, Budapest
1979 • Gallery of Pécs, Pécs (HU)
1980 • MiniGallery, Budapest
1981 • Egyesült Izzó, Kaposvár (HU)
1982 • Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest • Studio Arte, Bergamo • The Sándor Teszler Library, Wofford Spartanburg Collage (USA)
1983 • Ottó Herman Museum, Miskolc (HU)
1984 • Gallery of Kecskemét, Kecskemét (HU) • Greek Church, Vác (HU)
1985 • Bercsényi 28-30 Gallery, Budapest • Fészek Gallery, Budapest • Gallery of Somogy, Kaposvár (HU)
1986 • Petőfi Literary Museum, Budapest • Galerie Lècume, Paris • Atelier Exhibition, Budapest
1989 • Polaroid striptease, Liget Gallery, Budapest • County Library, Békéscsaba (HU)
1990 • Budapest Gallery, Budapest (cat.) • Hungarian Academy, Rome • Artestudio Bergamo, Ponte Nossa (OL)
1991 • De Media, Eeklo (B) • Vanhan Tlioppilastalon G., Helsinki • Fészek Gallery, Budapest
1992 • AL Galerie, Stuttgart
1993 • AL Galerie Gerlinde Walz, Stuttgart (cat.)
1994 • East starts – West ends, Municipal Picture Gallery, Budapest (cat.) • Éri Gallery, Budapest • Óbuda Gallery, Budapest
1995 • Hindu Heart, Vigadó Gallery, Budapest • Liget Gallery, Budapest • Consulate New Orleans, New Orleans • AL Galerie, Stuttgart • Fészek Gallery, Budapest
1996 • AL Galerie, Frankfurt am Main
1997 • Kamiyamada G. (JP)
1998 • G. Wyspa [with Zsigmond Károlyi], Gdańsk • Museum of Contemporary Art/Ludwig Museum, Budapest
1999 • Szinyei Salon, Budapest • Fészek Gallery, Budapest • Dezső Laczkó Museum, Veszprém • Arcus Gallery, Vác (HU) • G. "Les Contemporians", Brussels
2001 • Kāshi, Budapest Gallery, Budapest

Selected Group Exhibitions:
1976 • Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
1977 • V. National Biennial of Small Sculpture, Pécs (HU)
1977 • Petőfi Literary Museum, Budapest • UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
1980 • Drawings, Gallery of Pécs, Pécs (HU)
1981 • Budapest Historical Museum, Budapest • MiniGallery, Budapest • XI. National Biennial of Graphic Art, Miskolc (HU) • Helikon Gallery, Budapest
1982 • Műcsarnok, Budapest • Xertox Group, Bercsényi 28-30 Gallery, Budapest
1987 • Budapest Gallery, Budapest
1988 • VI. Photo Biennial of Esztergom, Vármúzeum, Esztergom (HU) • Xertox, Cellar Gallery of Óbuda, Budapest
1989 • Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest • Műcsarnok, Budapest
1990 • Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
1991 • City Gallery, Helsinki
1992 • The Alien is Beautiful, Barcsay Hall, Budapest • The Great Card Game, Cellar Gallery of Óbuda, Budapest • The Rabbit, Óbudai Társaskör Gallery, Budapest.

Works In Public Collections:
Art Center, Kyoto
Art Center, Seoul
Deák Collection, Székesfehérvár (HU)
Municipal Picture Gallery, Budapest
King Saint Stephen Museum, Székesfehérvár
Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs (HU)
Museum of Contemporary Art/Ludwig Museum, Budapest
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
Musée D'Art Moderne, Paris
Metropolitan Museum, Tokio
Dezső Laczkó Museum, Veszprém (HU)
National Museum, Krakow
Petőfi Literary Museum, Budapest
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

Bibliography:
Beke, L.: ~ (cat. intro., Adolf Fényes Hall, 1972)
Gyetvai, Á.: Muszáj-Herkules!, Művészet, 1984/11.
h. k. [Hudra, Klára]: Bevonulás "A megterhelt házba". Beszélgetés ~ képzőművésszel, Művészet, 1988/1.
Andrási, G.: Szorgalmas művészet és dolgos meditáció ~ kiállításáról, Új Művészet, 1991/3.
Hajdu, I.: (cat. intro., AL Galerie Gerlinde Walz, Stuttgart, 1993)
Szilágyi, Á.: ~, Kritika, 1993/11.
Hajdu, I.: ~ (cat. intro., Municipal Picture Gallery, 1994)
A térről beszélget Hajdu I., Balkon, 1994/7.
Kúnos, L.: Kelet kezd - Nyugat befejez. Kulcsszavak ~ kiállításához, Balkon, 1994/7.
Birkás, Á.: A templom..., Balkon, 1994/7.
Wołodzko, A.: Légies mamut és súlyos felhő. Károlyi Zsigmond és ~ kiállítása..., Balkon, 1998/6.
Szabó, J.: Búcsú a prófétáktól. ~ Isten veled költészet! című kiállítása, Új Művészet, 1999/11.