SZIRTES, János

SZIRTES, János
artist
(8 Dec. 1954, Budapest –)
1975–1977: Graphics major at the School of Fine Arts, Bratislava; 1977-1980: Graphics major at the Fine Arts College of Budapest; 1980–1983: Specialization, master: Miklós Erdély, 1978–1983: member of the Indigo Group 1980: member of the Society of Young Fine Artists Studio; 1988: member of the Internationales Künstler Gremiumn, and the Graphics Group of Szentendre, furthermore the head of the Lajos Vajda Cultural Society. 1989: the senior lecturer of the Industrial Arts College of Budapest; 1991: member of the Colony of artists located in Szentendre; 1997: Associate professor at the Industrial Arts College of Budapest. 1982: Béla Kondor Award (Fine Arts College, Budapest); 1983–1984: Society of Young Fine Artists Studio scholarship; 1984–1987: Derkovics scholarship; 1986: Award of the 10th National Aquarelle Biennial, Eger; 1989: Scholarship of the Roman-Hungarian Academy; 1990: Munkácsy Award; 1994: work scholarship from the Künstlerhaus of Salzburg. Szirtes was the director and participant of a number of performances produced from 1972 onwards. Exhibitions of his have regularly been held in the in the Várfok Gallery in Budapest. His work is characterized by its diversity and variety of technique. Techniques such as aquarelle, graphics, oil, carbon, spray, happening, music and sound may all be encountered in his works. Szirtes is thus considered an experimental artist. During the course of the 1980’s he painted new eclectic, expressive movements, his paintings were constituted of fabric-like surfaces covered with intense colors, which were then coated with a further layer of black and white signs. During this period masks constituted magical, ritual elements and instruments in his performances, the accompanying music was often quite articulate and ecstatic. From the beginning of the 1990’s he began producing, finely textured, chromed “archaic” prints depicting human beings. He covered most of his works with carbon, i.e. in a similar manner to the magical and ritual materials used ancient cultures. He often made use of fire, smoke, and carbon in the production of his works. During the second half of the 1990’s he once again began producing grand-scale aquarelles. The act of painting itself also played a key part in the art of Sirtes, since painting itself constituted the subject- matter of many of his works. One-Man Shows:
1981 • University of Horticultural Science, Budapest • Community Centre, Gyöngyös (HU)
1982 • Rendez-Vous, Minimal-music Festival, Szkéné Theatre, Budapest • Béla Radics Memorial Evening, Bem Quay Club, Budapest • Studio Gallery, Budapest • Bástya Gallery, Budapest • Castle Gallery, Sárvár (HU) • Boarding School of the Kindergarten Teacher’s Training College Szombathely, Szombathely (HU)
1983 • Club of Young Artists (FMK), Budapest
1985 • Liget Gallery, Budapest • Post-traditionelle Kunst, vier Maler aus Budapest, Mana Galerie, Vienna • Galerie Dienstag, Künstlerhaus, Stuttgart
1986 • Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs (HU) • Bástya Gallery, Budapest
1987 • Rotor Galerie, Göteborg (SVE) • Atrium Hyatt • Studio Gallery, Budapest • Upplands Kunstmuseum [with István ef Zámbó and László fe Lugossy], Uppsala (SVE)
1988 • French Institute, Budapest • County Community Centre, Szeged (HU) • Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely (HU) (cat.) • Moltkerei Werkstadt, Cologne • Salamon Tower [with Péter Gémes], Visegrád (HU) • Gallery of Miskolc, Miskolc (HU) [with István ef Zámbó and László fe Lugossy]
1989 • Budapest Convention Centre • Church Gallery, Esztergom (HU) • Liget Gallery, Budapest
1990 • Municipal Gallery [with László fe Lugossy], Vác (HU) • Hungarian Institute, [with László fe Lugossy], Sofia • Fészek Gallery, Budapest • Der Galerie Künstler, Bielefeld (D)
1991 • Municipal Gallery, Békéscsaba (HU) • Youth House [with László fe Lugossy], Székesfehérvár (HU) • Gallery of János Xantus Museum [with László fe Lugossy], Győr (HU) (cat.) • „Stúdió erté” Festival [with László fe Lugossy], Érsekújvár • Installation, Ludwig Forum, Aachen • Installation, Moltkerei Werkstadt, Cologne
1992 • Grenzenlos, Installation and Performance, Bethanien Haus, Berlin • Spicchi dell'Est G. [with Gábor Záborszky], Rome • Ernst Museum, Budapest (cat.)
1993 • Municipal Gallery, Zalaegerszeg (HU) • Hungarian Institute, Helsinki • Art-Werpen, Antwerpen • Presentation of the Paintings made for the Hospital of Mátészalka (HU), Ludwig Museum, Budapest
1994 • Tűzoltó street. 72., Budapest • House of Arts, Veszprém (HU) • Greek Church [with László fe Lugossy], Vác (HU)
1995 • Vigadó Gallery, Budapest • Vox Café • One Night Exhibition -installation materials of the so-called: „Tiszalap Performance” [with László fe Lugossy], Műcsarnok, Budapest
1996 • Bartók 32 Gallery, Budapest • Sziget Festival '96, Budapest • Home Gallery, Budapest • National Theatre [with László fe Lugossy], Miskolc (HU) • Headquarters of the World Bank in Budapest, Budapest
1997 • Fészek Gallery, Budapest • G. la Etaj 3/4 Felateatrul National, Bucarest • Recumbent Tree, Recumbent Crystal, Municipal Picture Gallery, Budapest (cat.)
1998 • Várfok 14 Gallery, Budapest
1999 • XO Gallery, Budapest
2000 • Selected Group Exhibitions:
1978 • Charcoal – Drawing with Charcoal [Indigo group], Youth House of Marczibányi Square, Budapest
1979 • The Sand and its Motion Forms [Indigo], MOM (Hungarian Optical Works) Culture House, Budapest • Weight [Indigo], MOM Culture House, Budapest • Faith [Indigo], MOM Culture House, Budapest • Exit for Artists [Indigo], MOM Culture House, Budapest
1980 • Arboretum [Indigo], University of Horticultural Science, Budapest • Biography [Indigo], Club of Young Artists (FMK), Budapest • Aquarell [Indigo], Bercsényi Student Hall, Budapest • Paper [Indigo], Paper-Mill of Csepel, Budapest
1981 • Hard and Soft [Indigo], Óbuda Gallery, Budapest • The most beautiful summer souvenirs of mine [Indigo], Post Culture House, Budapest
1982 • Artist Colony of Makó, Makó (HU) • Table Action, [Indigo], Post Culture House, Budapest
1983 • Collective Painter Action of the Indigo Group, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest • Film/Art, Budapest Gallery, Budapest • Veil, Fészek Club, Budapest • Exhibition of the Indigo’s Drawing Workshop, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest • Skin and Bones, Lajos Vajda Studio Gallery, Szentendre • Artist Colony of Makó, Makó (HU) • 3. B. der Europäischen Grafik, Alter Bahnhof, Baden-Baden • Telephon Concert, Vienna-Berlin-Budapest [Indigo], Artpool Studio, Budapest
1984 • Bak-Birkás-Molnár-~, Gallery of Pécs, Pécs (HU) • Picture '84 II., Fészek Gallery, Budapest • 6. B. Européenne de la Gravure, Mulhose (FR) • Collective Painter Action of the Indigo Group, Post Culture House, Budapest • Wet paint, Ernst Museum, Budapest • Young Hungarian Artists, Studio Szajna G., Warsaw • Medal Polishing Action [Indigo], Downtown Youth House, Budapest • Unkarin Maalaustaidetta 1945-1985, Helsinki • 16. Biennial of Graphic Art, Moderna G. Ljubljana • Contemporary Visual Art in Hungary, Third Eye Gallery, Glasgow (GB)
1985 • Three Generation of Hungarian Painters, Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz • Contemporary Visual Arts in Hungary • 18 Artists, Csók Gallery, Székesfehérvár (HU)• Eclectics '85, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
1986 • III. National Biennial of Drawings, Sándor Nógrádi Museum, Salgótarján (HU) • Biennial of Graphic Art, Namur (B)
1987 • Upplands Kunstmuseum, Uppsala (SVE) • Eight Hungarian Artists, Jerusalem • New Sensibility IV., Gallery of Pécs, Pécs, Little Gallery of Pécs • 19. International Biennial, São Paulo • Rote Fabrik, Zuerich • Young Soviet and Hungarian Artists, Budapest-Moscow
1988 • Young Hungarian Artists, Berlin • Rostock • Summer Symposion, Bratislava
1989 • Symmetry, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest • Internationales Künstler Gremium, Museum Wiesbaden • New Art of Hungary, Los Angeles
1990 • Triumpf 1., Charlottenborg, Copenhagen • Triumpf 2., Műcsarnok, Budapest • Resource Kunst/Erőforrások, Műcsarnok, Budapest • 13 Hungarian Artists, G. Zacheta, Warsaw • Stuart Lévy Gallery, New York
1991 • Methaphor, Gallery of Pécs, Pécs (HU) • Hommage a El Greco, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest • Contemporary Fine Arts – A Selection from the Collections of the Ludwig Museum, the Budapest Gallery and the Hungarian National Gallery, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest • Oscillation, Hatos Tower, Komarno (CSZ) • Műcsarnok, Budapest • Pentagonale-Plus, R. Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh • Zentripedal, Minoritenkirche, Krems-Stein • Flags, Fészek Gallery, Budapest • Budapest! Contemporary Hungarian Art, Royal Hibernian Academy, Gallegher Gallery, Dublin • Modern Hungarian Art, Seoul Art Center, Art Museum, Seoul
1992 • Interrupted Dialogue • Revisions, Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Inst. of Modern Art, Brisbane (AUS) • Ungarn Zeit Kunst, Bonn (wandering exhibition) • Interferenzen VII., Museum Moderner Kunst, Palais Liechtenstein, Vienna • Alien is beautiful, Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest • I. Contemporary Epigon Exhibition, Liget Gallery, Budapest
1993 • We ”East-French”. Hungarian Art 1981-89. Hungarian Art of the Twentieth Century, Csók Gallery, Székesfehérvár (HU) • Hungary – Before and After – An Exhibition of Hungarian Art, IMF Cultural Center, Washington • Hungarian House, New York • Municipal Picture Gallery, Budapest • Ungarn Zeit Kunst, Vigadó Gallery, Budapest • Polyphony, Budapest • Variations on Pop Art – Chapters from the Hungarian Fine Art, Ernst Museum, Budapest • Zentripedal, Gallery of Pécs, Pécs (HU)
1994 • Enigma, János Xantus Museum, Győr (HU) • More than Ten, Ludwig Museum, Budapest • The Eighties – Fine Arts, Ernst Museum, Budapest
1995 • Dachau Kunstverein Ausstellung, Dachau • Monads, Greek church, Vác (HU) • Saraievo, Műcsarnok, Budapest • Coincidence, Kulturzentrum Ignis, Cologne
1996 • VAM Design Gallery, Budapest • Budapest Art Expo '96, Hungexpo • AICA Conference Exhibition, Vigadó Gallery, Budapest • Natura-Naturans, Triest
1997 • Twelve Artists from the Lajos Vajda Studio, Vigadó Gallery, Budapest • Oil/Canvas, Műcsarnok, Budapest • Bridging, Duna Museum, Esztergom (HU) – Párkány (SK) (cat.) • Péter Gémes memorial exhibition, Dovin Gallery, Budapest • Béla Hamvas memorial exhibition, Ferenczy Museum, Szentendre (HU) • Wine and the Artists, French Institute, Budapest • The Revolutionary Meeting of Two Galleries, Kieselbach Gallery - Várfok 14 Gallery, Budapest
2000 • Dialogue. Art of Painting on the turn of the Millenaire, Műcsarnok, Budapest.

Works in Public Collections:
First Hungarian Sight Cabinet, Tapolca-Diszel (HU)
Municipal Picture Gallery, Budapest
King Saint Stephen Museum, Székesfehérvár (HU)
Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs (HU)
Contemporary Art Institute, Dunaújváros (HU)
Museum of Contemporary Art/Ludwig Museum, Budapest
Dezső Laczkó Museum, Veszprém (HU)
Ludwig Museum, Aachen
Gallery of Miskolc, Miskolc (HU)
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
Mihály Munkácsy Museum, Békéscsaba (HU)
M. Sztuki, Poznań
Gallery of Paks, Paks
Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely (HU)
Upplands Kunstmuseum, Uppsala (SVE)
Municipal Gallery, Győr (HU). Bibliography:
~, Vető János, Galántai György beszélgetése a Fiatal Művészek Klubjában, Artpool Letter/3., 1983.
Lóska, L.: A festő és performer. ~ művészete, Művészet, 1987/6.
Sárkány, J.: Bemutatjuk ~ grafikáit, Élet és Irodalom, 1987. december 11.
Hegyi, L.: A labirintus ornamentikája - Szempontok ~ művészetének értelmezéséhez, French Institute, Budapest, 1988
Fe Lugossy, L.: No Tie - The Art of János Szirtes which can be felt 1988 (sieve prints, cat., Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely, 1988)
Gálig, Z.: About the Sifting. Prints of ~ 1988 (sieve prints, cat., Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely, 1988)
Nagy, I.: Csodaszarvas. ~ festményeiről, Művészet, 1990/2.
Hudra, K.: ~ művészete, Élet és Irodalom, 1992/3.
~-fe Lugossy László (cat., Municipal Gallery, Győr, 1992)
Bojár, I. A.: Szintézis/Ernst Múzeum: ~ kiállítása, Magyar Narancs, 1992. október 22.
Antal, I.: Ködlovag a térben. ~ kiállítása az Ernst Múzeumban, Magyar Napló, 1992. december 25.
Fe Lugossy, L.–Jappe, E.–Beke, L.–Hegyi, L.: (cat., Ernst Museum, 1992)
Fitz, P.: Fekvő fa – fekvő kristály (cat., Municipal Picture Gallery, Budapest, 1997).
(Translation: Vladimir Végh)

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