“Art is life itself!”
Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch memorial exhibition at the Gödöllő Town Museum
MúzeumCafé 35.
“His artistic legacy is huge and if ever there is to be a retrospective of his work what will cause admiration apart from his volume of output is his unrivalled graphic art.” Thus prophesied Artúr Elek in his obituary of Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch (1863–1920). Yet an exhibition showing the richness of his work has not since been staged, not for lack of esteem or resolve, but due to the physical limitations of traditional exhibition spaces. How can his oeuvre be presented to succeeding generations when he regarded oil-on-canvas as rather limiting, and hence his greatest achievements were in the field of monumental architectural decoration or in the design of carpets and furniture which by now are lost or destroyed? While the exponents of contemporary modernism increasingly narrowed their perspectives so that with innovative forms of expression they created the bases of autonomous images, Körösfői-Kriesch and his colleagues in the Gödöllő artists’ colony aimed to renew the concept of academic art on the basis of entirely different principles. They worked hard at eliminating autonomy, employing the arts in the service of both ideas and utility. Like medieval monastics, they judged creation in terms of content and purpose. Thus their craft became a vocation and the artist was elevated as a prophet. Their principles were at one with life and they endowed each everyday moment with an all-pervasive artistic concept. In the words of Körösfői-Kriesch: “Every small object around us contains within itself the essence of art. Our table, our chair, our bed, a small spoon or plate for eating, our clothing, our door key, our prayer book and the carpet we tread on – everything can be artistic.” The Gödöllő Town Museum is marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Körösfői-Kriesch with an exhibition and numerous events. The curator is Cecília Őriné Nagy.