We are pleased to be able to share information on an exiting exhibition on post war Hungarian ceramics (see flyer below). There are certainly similarities to West German fat lava items – we even recognised one of our un-identified vases as Hungarian just from the flyer, something which Graham Cooley subsequently confirmed.

Press Release:
Forma Hungarica Post-war Hungarian Ceramics from the Graham Cooley Collection
Kings Lynn Arts Centre 2nd May -20th June 2015
29 King St, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1HA. Phone: 01553 779095

Design behind the Iron Curtain is a fascinating area of research. From 1945 to 1990 many great artists developed their work in isolation from the West. Interestingly, this also meant isolation from what we might call ‘accepted history’, because most of these great practitioners have not recently been written about or exhibited. Rediscovery and reassessment is an essential part of progress in historical analysis. It is also the most enjoyable part of piecing together information about a new collection of historical objects. The parallels between Hungarian Ceramics and Czech glass are very strong. Exporting from the Comecon*
countries was highly co-ordinated and controlled. Designer glass came from Czechoslovakia and designer ceramics from Hungary. There were accepted artists who could sell their work through the Arts and Crafts Company “Iparművészeti Vállalat” or the state organised “Artex”, and those promoted by the State were prolific in their time. The names of most of these artists have disappeared over time, so I hope that this exhibition will bring their work the exposure that it deserves.

The exhibition, a world first in this area will feature over 400 objects from the Graham Cooley Collection.  Gorka Geza (the great
establishment figure) and Gorka Livia (his rebellious daughter; excluded from the academy) will be in the Fermoy Gallery. The main exhibition will be the Shakespeare Barn and period literature will be in the Red Barn. The exhibition catalogue published by King’s Lynn Arts Centre with text commissioned by Peter Langh of the 567 gallery in Budapest will be the first publication on the
subject in English.

This marks the 5th fruitful collaboration between the collector and King’s Lynn Arts Centre and the exhibition promises to be both captivating and informative.

The main exhibition features the work of the following notable ceramic artists:

Gádor István | Gorka Géza | Kovács Margit | Gorka Lívia | Garányi József | Török János | Garányiné Staindl Katalin|
Illés Sándor | Benkő Ilona | Janáky Viktor | Csekovszky Árpád | Bod Éva | Várdeák Ildikó | Hadamcsik Mária | Papp János | Pál Ferenc | Ferenczy Kati | Eschenbach Jenő

The vase we mentioned earlier is shown below – no re-attributed as Hungarian.