Exclusive guided tour with art historian Judit Sárosdy at Dóra Keresztes' exhibition entitled Csillagjáró (Star Walker)

Although graphic artist Dóra Keresztes' exhibition Csillagjáró (Star Walker) will only be on display at the Műcsarnok until January 11, 2026, I could hardly recommend a better way to start the year.

Those who have followed her career spanning more than four decades have already encountered her unmistakable, magical works—her graphic art, animated films, poetry and book illustrations, posters, paintings, theater set and costume designs, and sacred works—know that a special experience awaits them. But those who are just now discovering his powerful, sometimes grotesque, sometimes playful visual world, which condenses ancient knowledge into concise symbols, will not be disappointed either. Dóra learned from outstanding masters, and her art was nourished by pure sources: from the coffered ceilings of Transylvanian Reformed churches to Hungarian folk art, and from medieval woodcuts to Chagall's fabulous visual world.

The exhibition does not attempt to present her entire oeuvre, but rather focuses on her most recent works (Astral Myths I - XV, 2025; Imagination I–V, 2025), but thanks to the excellent curation, the three small thematic rooms offer such a comprehensive picture and inspire so many thoughts that we can participate in a magical cavalcade of continuous transformation, which is tantamount to an initiation. And even if we are not shamans, we can perhaps be garabonciások.

Let us decipher together the visual codes of an archaic worldview and its messages for today! The various animals that have been left to us from the totemic worldview, with their symbolic and sacred meanings, can help us in this. Just as Dóra's hybrid creatures—the two-tailed mermaid, the owl-headed girl, and even the goose-blooded girl—tell us about humans. They combine archaic knowledge and Jungian psychology. Unique or reproduced graphics, poem illustrations and animations, black-and-white and color symbols, figures, and (animal) shapes enriched with new layers of meaning all aim to help us find our way back to the cosmic order.

Judit Sárosdy