Posters and Drawings. An exhibition by graphic designer József Árendás
The Műcsarnok pays tribute to József Árendás, one of the most influential and pioneering figures in contemporary Hungarian cultural poster art, with a major exhibition. The exhibition is timed to coincide with the artist’s 80th birthday, which provides an excellent opportunity to summarise and organise his rich body of work, as well as to draw attention to the unique values of the cultural poster genre.
The exhibition is based on the concept of a ‘condensed retrospective’: rather than aiming for exhaustiveness, it presents the artist’s creative DNA, stylistic development and main themes. The selection condenses the most defining periods into a single arc that is intense in both visual and thematic terms. The groups of works are organised around three main themes that stand out from the artist’s career: the nostalgic cinema posters of the 1970s; the era and dramatic quality of theatre posters from 1983 onwards; and the so-called ‘artist-led’ or ‘autonomous’ posters of recent decades, which focus on a purely artistic message.
Schedule
The exhibition focuses on such fundamental aspects of his body of work as intellectual humour, wry irony, outspoken visual metaphors, the creation of a powerful atmosphere, and witty associations. It pays particular attention to manual drawing skills – now a rare treasure in contemporary graphic design – and to the artistic approach that combines offline and digital techniques; consequently, alongside the posters, drawings also feature prominently in the exhibition space. The exhibition not only showcases the artist’s body of work but also tells the story of the genre and its evolution: by incorporating a street advertising column, it evokes the original medium and context of the posters.
József Árendás’s body of work is an excellent example of how, despite the automatisms of the digital age, profound thought, wit and high-quality graphic design can elevate the poster to the level of autonomous art. His exhibition does not merely document the milestones of a career, but also celebrates the fleeting yet enduring values of the cultural poster genre.
Gréta Garami, curator of the exhibition
Kunsthalle Budapest
The largest exhibition hall in Budapest, in Heroes Square, just the opposite the Museum of Fine Arts.
