130 x 190 cm, hand-stitched carpet
Founded in 1958, the Studio of Young Artists initially organised its own exhibitions at various venues, before establishing the Studio Gallery, which primarily hosted the solo and group exhibitions of its members. From the 1980s onwards, the Studio Gallery became one of the most prominent and influential exhibition spaces on the Hungarian contemporary art scene. Between 1972 and 1994, it was located at 62 Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Avenue; after the regime change, it was moved to 6 Képíró Street in the Fifth District. In 2007, it relocated once again to the ground floor of a turn-of-the-century apartment building on the corner of Rottenbiller and Damjanich Street (35 Rottenbiller Street). The logo of the Studio Gallery was designed by IMRE KOCSIS. Source: KEMKI.
130 x 190 cm, hand-stitched carpet
he Applied Arts Company (Iparművészeti Vállalat) was founded in 1954 as part of the decentralisation reforms of the arts that began during Imre Nagy’s prime ministership, under the professional supervision of the Art Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic. Its tasks included the production of various gift and decorative items created by applied artists (jewellery, medals, plaques, textiles, etc.), as well as products related to home decor and apparel. IDEA, which marketed the products of the Applied Arts Company, was established in 1984. Following the liquidation of IDEA in 1990, the Company also ceased its operations in 2000. The designer of the logo of the Applied Arts Company is not known. Source: KEMKI.
250 x 170 cm, hand-stitched carpet
Once the Hungarian art world had been brought under state control in 1948, a large state-owned art company was created whose name was changed several times. Initially it was known as the Fine Art Fund, then—with the merger with the Literary and Music Fund—it was referred to as the Art Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic (Art Fund, for short). Its main task was to provide an economic basis for the art world, while managing the art supply business, maintaining state-run artists’ colonies, exercising control over art studios, and running a publishing company. The Art Fund had at its disposal a significant part of the state benefits intended for supporting artists in the form of grants, prizes and pensions. Its operations were restructured several times, and, following the economic reforms of 1968—and especially in the 1980s—it had control over several market-based initiatives. After the change of regime, it underwent several transformations with a significant reduction in its assets and real estate holdings. It was succeeded by the Public Foundation of Hungarian Artists (Magyar Alkotóművészeti Közalapítvány, MAK) and later the National Association of Hungarian Artists (Magyar Alkotóművészek Országos Egyesülete, MAOE). Source: KEMKI.
250 x 170 cm, hand-stitched carpet, 2021–2022
IDEA was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of the Art Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic and engaged in applied arts-related trade. Its tasks included the commercial distribution and sale of applied art objects. Following the change in regime, IDEA went bankrupt. Its liquidation proceedings began in 1990 and were completed in 2000, thus terminating IDEA with no legal successor. Logo designed by PÁL ANTAL. Source: KEMKI.
130 x 190 cm, hand-stitched carpet
The Studio of Young Artists (Fiatal Képzőművészek Stúdiója, FKS) was established in 1958 as a successor organisation to the Young Artists’ Creative Society, which had only existed for four years previously (1954–1958). The Studio’s aim was to support freshly graduated visual artists and to help them start their careers. By the 1960s, the Studio’s annual overview shows had become an important platform for presenting contemporary Hungarian art trends even though the exhibited material had to be approved by the Art Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic (the organisation that maintained the Studio) and the Lectorate of Fine and Applied Arts (which ensured state-level supervision of its operations). Nonetheless, the Studio’s exhibitions, and especially its annual shows held at the Ernst Museum, constituted important events on the contemporary scene. After the change in regime, in May 1990, the FKS became the Studio of Young Artists’ Association (Fiatal Képzőművészek Stúdiója Egyesület, FKSE) with its own exhibition space—Studio Gallery—in Képíró Street, and in 2007 Studio Gallery moved to Rottenbiller Street. For more on the history of FKS and FKSE, visit their website: www.fkse.net Logo designed by László BALOGH. Source: KEMKI.
130 x 190 cm, hand-stitched carpet
After the Hungarian private sector and retail trade were brought under state ownership between 1948 and 1950, the commercial trade of contemporary artworks also came under state control. In 1952, for the purposes of selling the works of its contemporary artist members, the Art Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic established the Gallery Company (Képcsarnok Vállalat), with its own exhibition space (several in Budapest, and one in nearly every large city in Hungary). Until the 1980s, the Gallery Company monopolised the Hungarian Art world. The Gallery Company held regular solo exhibitions and other art events at its venues, and had weekly jury panels for evaluating and purchasing the submitted works of its members. From the 1970s onwards, the Gallery’s operations were subject to considerable criticism: it was continually losing money and a significant proportion of the artworks it had purchased from its members were never sold to a third party.
Despite several attempts at market-oriented reform, after the change of regime, the Gallery Company was split into several parts with its real estate and art assets reorganised into a limited liability company (Kft.), which continued to operate until 2013, mainly supporting itself through the maintained circulation of artworks in its exhibition spaces located in the centre of Budapest. Logo designed by ZOLTÁN TAMÁSSI. Source: KEMKI.
130 x 190 cm, hand-stitched carpet
The Association of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists with its numerous departments was founded in 1949, as a result of a complete reorganisation of the Hungarian arts world during the Rákosi era. Its management was appointed by Communist Party leadership, usually from artists who sought to conform to the cultural policy of the time. The new Association’s tasks included organising the first nationwide “socialist realist” art exhibitions, “decentralising” the art scene, organising exhibitions and art events in the countryside, establishing a system of free art schools, and representing the artists who were registered as members in a quasi-union format. Following the 1956 Revolution, the organisation colloquially known as the “Association” was involved in putting together the legendary 1957 Spring Exhibition, which also showcased abstract and surrealist works. As a consequence, between 1957 and 1959 the Associations’ management was replaced and the organisation itself was restructured. Until 1989, it was overseen by the Ministry of Education. Following the change of regime, its monopoly ended, but its successor organisations are still in operation today. The logo of the Association of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists was designed by graphic artist GÁBOR PAPP. Source: KEMKI.
The research conducted by Ferenc Gróf and Zsófia Gyenes—carried out at the KEMKI Archive and Documentation Center (ADK) between October 2021 and May 2022—focused primarily on the history of Hungary's artistic institutions, from their inception to the present day. While many of these institutions have ceased their activities due to the absence of successor entities, some remain highly active and continue to be important players in the contemporary art and design scene.
The documents examined by Gróf and Gyenes—most of which were transferred from the former Fine Arts and Applied Arts Directorate to the Hungarian National Gallery in 2014, and later to the KEMKI ADK in 2021—provided key insights into the visual culture of the past 50 to 60 years, ranging from public sculptures to everyday objects, and from invoices issued by the Képcsarnok Vállalat (“Gallery Company”) to complaints from its clients.
Based on the logos and symbols researched, collected, and photographed during the study of files and documents dating from the second half of the 1960s to the present, an evolving organigram began to take shape. In collaboration with textile designer Zsófia Gyenes, Gróf started developing a series of tapestries using this collection—which traces the fragmented structure of Hungary’s 20th-century artistic infrastructure—as raw material. These tapestries, rugs, and wall hangings, which incorporate popular decorative solutions from the period of the documents studied, were used to decorate the offices of foreign delegations and national public institutions.
Just as various tapestry techniques have traditionally drawn from the boundary between fine arts and applied arts, the duo’s ideas were also influenced by elements of institutional critique, following in the footsteps of the Arts & Crafts movement.
The color palette of the tapestries designed for KEMKI was determined by the archival documents: yellowed stationery, blue stamps, shades of worn-out binders, and mixed folders. The series, currently consisting of eight wall tapestries, was completed during the summer of 2022.
Photos: Benedek Regős.