New Acquisitions Courtesy of The Circle of Patrons of the Contemporary Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery,
Budapest
The exhibition Invented Worlds is the third time we have the opportunity to present new acquisitions supported by The Circle of Patrons of the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest. The annual donation of this ever-expanding group, established in 2021 at the initiative of six dedicated collectors of contemporary art, enabled the acquisition of major works by artists from both Hungary and abroad in 2023. Modelled on similar associations that support acquisitions by the Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou, the members make a regular annual contribution with the aim of expanding the Collection of Prints and Drawings and the Collection of International Art after 1800 of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Contemporary Collection of the Hungarian National Gallery. Based on the proposals of the curators of the three collections, The Circle of Patrons, followed by an intense professional discussion, draws up an acquisition list in a vote that is held each autumn. Acting in consensus, the curators put forward their annual preferences in line with the fundamental aim of showing recent and current trends in Hungarian and international art side by side, as part of a dialogue, in future joint temporary or permanent exhibitions. This is what happened in 2023; the new acquisitions are now on view to visitors to this exhibition. Conceptually, The Circle of Patrons aims to expand the museum’s collection of artworks with the help of private individuals through the revival of a tradition of philanthropy in Hungary that goes back almost two centuries, but which was forcibly interrupted for decades. The museum is extremely grateful to the founders of the initiative and all those who have joined them. It is our hope that a growing number of people will follow their noble example, thus helping to expand the nation’s largest and most comprehensive collection of fine art for the benefit of present and future generations.
Curatorial concept
In the works acquired in 2023, the duality of our period emerges: the works reveal both the departure from reality, and the attempt to capture the visible and invisible layers of this reality, as well as a definite longing to disengage from the real world. In all instances, the realistic and imaginary aspects are placed in a harmonious unity on the surface rather than designating two opposing endpoints. The works are characterised by a progressive cooperation of dualities.
In our days, many visual artists are preoccupied with evoking the spectrums of art history and with mixing fictitious imagery. In place of formulating clear truths and blurring sharp boundaries, polyphony and parallelism, the departure from specific cultural historical references and the presentation of new, imagined worlds and inner visions based on these are emphasised. In contemporary fine art, a return to romantic and surrealist trends, technical experimentation, the alteration of mediums and scales, and radical visual metamorphoses are clearly discernible. On occasion, references from the past can be clearly distinguished “behind” the images, but often the initial motifs are transformed beyond recognition, and it is not known from where and from what material world the details originate. As the art historical past is brought into the new pictorial present, the past becomes virtualised, with the images constructed on the past ultimately following their new immanent logic. Linked to all this are Henri-Louis Bergson’s two conceptions of reality: the homogeneous and the heterogeneous reality. Bergson did not view these as in opposition to one other; he assumed a mutual relationship between them. The philosopher understood homogeneous reality as a slice of reality fixed in time and separated in space. In contrast, heterogeneous reality is, as Bergson put it, permeated by the continuous creation of new qualities thanks to the power of duration. He also drew attention to an important truth: we necessarily discern our reality in accordance with our practical needs and linguistic possibilities. We are inclined to ignore the fact that our reality is far more complex and multifaceted than we can perceive based on our intellectual abilities or express within the conceptual frameworks at our disposal. At this point, homogeneous and heterogeneous reality can be mixed with fantasy and imagination, that is, the real and with the unreal. In this sphere, new visual realities (invented worlds) meet and are born, concurrently comprising objective research and scientific knowledge, homogeneous and heterogeneous reality, subjective selection, and the imaginary image of all these.
Curators: Kinga BÓDI, Anna Zsófia KOVÁCS, Zsolt PETRÁNYI
The exhibition is open to the public in the Michelangelo Hall on the ground floor of the Museum of Fine Arts from 23 September to 27 October 2024, with any ticket for permanent or temporary exhibitions.
