The exhibition of the 12th post-war and contemporary art auction of the Virág Judit Gallery was opened on 11 April 2023 in Budapest. The exhibition can be viewed until 22 April, and the auction will take place on 23 April at the Budapest Congress Centre, followed by another auction at the gallery two days later.
The most famous Hungarian abstract painter, Simon Hantaï, will have one of his works featured. One of his large oil canvasses will be the auction’s pièce de résistance, with a starting price of 32 million forints. The enormous international recognition of the Hungarian abstract painter is indicated by the fact that in 2016, one of his paintings was sold for 4 million euros, or more than 1.4 billion forints, at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris.
Hantaï settled in Paris in 1948 and never returned to Hungary. He created his unique world, which is brought to life in his modern pieces not with traditional tools, but with blades, rags, and sponges, as described in the press release of the gallery.
In addition to Hantaï’s work, artwork from artists such as Ilona Keserű, János Fajó, Lajos Kassák, and László Lakner will also be available for bidding.
According to the press release, Ilona Keserű’s painting entitled Közelítés emléke (Memory of Approach) is a special representative piece of one of the artist’s most exciting periods, with an asking price of 6 million forints, while the painting Felszálló hangzat (Ascending Accord) can find a new owner starting at 13 million forints. In this work, horizontal colour stripes provide a background for two upward-moving colour groups, which, as suggested by the painting’s title, can also be interpreted as musical chords.
János Fajó’s painting entitled Piskóták III. (Biscuits III) is a joyous, pulsating piece and one of the artist’s first paintings to use the iconic teething biscuit shape. The large, museum-quality painting has a starting price of 10 million forints, but Fajó will also be represented at the auction with a ‘biscuit’ sculpture.
Kassák’s painting entitled Kompozíció 3 (Composition 3) was created in the 1960s and bridges European constructivism and Hungarian landscape and atmosphere painters with its crowded colour world. The painting has a starting price of 24 million forints.
As stated in the press release, the pieces of Lakner’s surrealist period rarely come up for auction on the domestic art market, so the 7.5 million forint starting price for the painting Csendélet (Still Life) could be a real treat for collectors.
In recent years, contemporary Hungarian artists have become significantly more valuable, with their works selling for hundreds of millions of forints abroad. As the press release quotes auctioneer and art historian Anna Kelen, they want to further increase the value and appreciation of Hungarian artists with this special spring auction collection.
