Graphic art exhibition opened at Kiss Kunszt Gallery

NewsCulture

Jun 19

A graphic art exhibition, showcasing artwork made at the Csongrád International Graphic Art Symposium, opened at Kiss Kunszt Gallery on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

The International Graphic Art Symposium was organized for the first time as part of the Csongrád Art Colony in April 2024. A selection of the works created during the two-week artist residency can now be seen at the recently opened fine art exhibition space in downtown Szeged. The exhibition presenting almost thirty graphics by ten European artists was opened by art historian Anna Váraljai, curator of the gallery.

"Zsuzsanna Sztanó and Gyula Kovács took over the leadership of the Art Colony in Csongrád and brought many new ideas to the colony's approach. Perhaps one of the most important of these is the graphic art symposium. This is quite a brave initiative since nowadays graphic art is neither a trend in contemporary art in Hungary, nor worldwide," explained Anna Váraljai. "They considered it important to organize the graphic art symposium because traditional graphic art processes, such as etching, linocut, or the very technical collagraphy – similarly to some animal species – are practically on the verge of extinction," she added.

The art historian explained the declining popularity of traditional graphic techniques on the one hand by the time-consuming and difficult production of works, and on the other hand by the rise of digitalization. Anna Váraljai also pointed out the value-saving mission of the symposium in her speech. She stressed that the Art Colony in Csongrád was not only significant at the national level but also at the European level. Because of its value-saving mission, she added, it can now also be considered a kind of graphic art reserve, where traditional processes that are now in decline are preserved, revived, and kept alive.