Gallery of Szombathely

The Szombathely Gallery is a cultural institution founded in Szombathely primarily as a venue for temporary and permanent exhibitions of contemporary visual artists.

Mission, operation

The Szombathely Gallery opened in 1985 on the initiative of the foundation whose successor continues to support the work carried out here; supporting events, the library, and certain exhibitions. Until 1995 the gallery belonged to the county museum organization, then it became independent. It is a nationally circulating exhibition venue, with 15–20 temporary exhibitions per year in which artists and artist groups present themselves, also within thematic exhibitions. In addition to Hungarian and foreign artists, international exhibitions are not uncommon, which often tour abroad after being shown here, e.g. in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany. It often mediates foreign exhibitions for contemporary Hungarian artists. On the 0.2‑hectare floor area of the building three larger exhibition spaces of about 500 square metres each are complemented by smaller studio galleries, a painting restoration workshop, a 10 000‑volume specialist library and archive. Conference and projection rooms, and a children’s activity area provide favourable conditions for international receptions and meetings. Its permanent collection also preserves 17th–19th‑century pieces, while the majority of works defining the institution are linked to 20th‑century Hungarian artists. It represents the early Hungarian avant‑garde (Lajos Kassák and his circle) as well as pop, minimal and conceptual art that developed despite political oppression. Many of the creators of these works have emigrated, but still maintain close ties with their homeland, for example the international conceptual artist Endre Tót, the also Germany‑based László Lakner, and Gyula Konkoly, who worked for a long time in France. After the new painting wave of the 1980s, it primarily aims to give today’s young artists an opportunity to present themselves. The range of genres is also broad, extending from traditional painting to multimedia works. It includes a contemporary textile collection of 2 500 items, mainly acquired through the textile biennials that have been linked to the city since 1970. The internationally sourced miniature textile collection was offered to the gallery by the exhibitors.

Thus the socialist artists: Derkovits Gyula, Dési Huber István, Fenyő A. Endre, Háy Károly László, Sugár Andor, Bokros Birman Dezső, Farkas Aladár, Goldmann György, Mészáros László began to collect, alongside their works, the works of representatives of the Szentendre and European School, more closely related to surrealism, such as Ámos Imre, Anna Margit, Vajda Lajos, Bán Béla, Gyarmathy Tihamér, Bálint Endre, Forgách Hann Erzsébet. This concept evaluated activist art as a prelude to left‑wing art, thus the oeuvre of Nemes‑Lampérth József, Uitz Béla, Bernáth Aurél.

Through the so‑called “Million purchases” – in which a jury decided on the distribution of works – important contemporary pieces entered the collection, among others the works of Keserü Ilona, Lakner László, Gyémánt László, El Kazovszkij. Since the institution at that time still had a purchasing budget, it was able to acquire certain quality works independently of the mass state actions.

At that time works that do not belong closely to the concept also entered the collection, which now enrich and colour the exhibition: the works of Szurcsik János, Szabó Zoltán, Hézső Ferenc, Kass János, Kurucz D. István.

The Vas County Council focused on collecting local art, so the works of Bartha László, Geszler Mária, Simon Iván can also augment the material.

A significant portion of the section consists of the paintings and especially the graphics (about 500 pieces) of Dési Huber István and the works of the Bartha oeuvre (approximately 100 pieces).