Égerházi Paintings In Poland
(Article from the Hajdú-Bihari Napló, published on June 3, 1998)
Leczna (HBN) – In the spirit of the co-operation between the Polish settlement and Hajdúhadház, thirty-two works by the painter Imre Égerházi is on display; the painter lives in Debrecen and works in the Hajdúhadház Creative House. The exhibition started on June 1 and lasts until the 7th. The exhibition in Poland was opened by László Béres, Mayor of Hajdúhadház, after the greeting of the local mayor. The paintings will also be presented in Lublin, the sister city of Debrecen, during June.
Plains Summoned In Lečzna
(Article from the Hajdú-Bihari Napló, published on June 23, 1998)
Hortobágy (HBN – A. L.) – Hortobágy is the “adopted” homeland of painter Imre Égerházi. A common feature of the oil paintings in the collection, opened in the village house of the settlement: all inspired by the plains.
I asked the artist, who is in his 73rd year, on the spot: what role does the land play in his life and career?
– I got to knew the steppe more deeply 35 years ago when my colleagues and I painted here for weeks (as a founding member of the Hajdúság International Artists’ Colony). During the courses of the Hortobágy Creative Camp, after the summer, the winter plains also became a key experience for me. I fell in love with this landscape so much that I often come besides the time in the creative colony. You may not be able to paint what makes the biggest impact on a person here. There are fantastic phenomena in the wilderness – like the mirage or the phenomenon of having two suns in the sky; these cannot be painted.
As an experience, of course, they are huge. They are even bigger than marveling at the sheer colorfulness of flowers, the withered grasses, the whitewashed houses in the distance, the runic piles and goulash trees stretching here and there. The biggest challenge for the artist here is to display and abstract the landscape and man. Creating order is aimed at balancing the painting to suggest calmness. And a feeling that can stem from either the beauty of the wilderness or its dramatic happenings. It was a great pleasure for me when I last said in Leczna, at the exhibition of my paintings on Hortobágy, that the people said so lovingly, “Hortobági, Hortobági!” That the experience they get in the ‘‘ big nothingness ’was revived by looking at my pictures. I feel like a creator doesn’t even need more recognition than that.
Imre Égerházi In Lečzna, Poland (Partial)
From the opening speech of his solo exhibition of June 2, 1998
“…Sutanius: Arteem quaevis allit terra. In Hungarian: art is valued all over the world, or in a more free translation, the artist’s home is the world.
The painter Imre Égerházi has come a long way since his first major exhibition in 1960 (Debrecen). As the leader of the Hortobágy Creative Camp, his unique art is known from France to Japan, Finland, and America; art characterized by balance, tranquility and humanity. His works tie him to his homeland and Hajdúság, and reflect the ideals and emotions of the Hungarian ancients. He is not only fully identifies with Hungarian culture and history (Hajdúk I., panneau, 600 x 185 cm, 1987, Hajdúk II., panneau 275 x 410 cm, 1993, Hungarian tales and legends, panneau, 207 x 265 cm, 1997). but also has an excellent knowledge of the culture and history of other nations. His largest work in recent years (a 600 x 400 cm panneau) was made in France for the town of Vervains, on which he immortalized the 1598 Franco-Spanish peace treaty.
The artwork can be found in the city’s Cultural Center.”
“…Now these 32 paintings will be presented here in your city as part of the cultural event of the Twin-Town Relationship…”
László Béres
