A home for ceramics

Exhibition in the former studio of Árpád Csekovszky

MúzeumCafé 41.

Árpád Csekovszky was the outstanding figure of 20th-century Hungarian ceramic arts, as art historian Éva Csenkey wrote about his oeuvre always in connection with reality. His former studio is today a museum. Cse-kovszky’s widow, Edit, looks after his works. After completing his college studies, in August 1957 Árpád Csekovszky was appointed as an assistant professor and after a year as head of the ceramics department, where he taught for 40 years. His studio was built in 1962 next to the family’s house and today it serves as an exhibition space displaying his works and related objects. In the 60s and 70s he received many commissions for murals, thanks to the then system’s ‘two thousandth’ decree, according to which two thousandths of state investments had to be devoted to the creation of contemporary artworks. In addition, every year ministries made purchases, selected from works by noted artists, which then decorated their offices. These usually ended up in public collections. In the 1980s murals were superseded by small sculptures. Following Csekovszky’s death, two years were devoted to making an inventory of his works, then a year later the Árpád Csekovszky Public Arts Foundation was established with the aim of taking care of his legacy. Budapest’s 17th District Council became the funding body, though ownership of the collection remained with the family, whose members had already formulated the idea of an exhibition house. With the help of the Rákosmente local authority, the reconstructed former studio opened as a four-storey exhibition space in October 2003.

For five years after the opening Edit Csekovszky operated, managed and maintained the building. Since it became a museum institute a special artistic director, Sára F. Orosz, has been assisting her. Orosz herself is a former student of Árpád Csekovszky.