A collaborative exhibition by the Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA), the National Archives, and the Collegium Hungaricum offers a glimpse into nearly seventy years of Éva Keleti’s photographic career. Following the success of last year’s retrospective, this new exhibition makes its international debut, supplemented with photos taken by the artist in Vienna, according to MTVA’s announcement on Wednesday.
During the 1960s, Keleti pioneered theatrical photography, capturing every significant moment of Hungarian stages. She documented rehearsal processes, the triumphs of premieres, and ventured behind the scenes. She created portraits of outstanding actors such as Iván Darvas, Éva Ruttkai, Ilona Béres, and internationally renowned opera singer Erzsébet Házy.
Additionally, Keleti documented the Hungarian performances at the Vienna Festival Weeks during the 1960s and 1970s, including productions like The Tragedy of Man and the premiere of the opera Orpheus and Eurydice, featuring the most esteemed Hungarian and Austrian actors of the time.
‘We are working to provide an overview of the era in which I lived these more than 90 years. I hope there are works among them that visitors will remember for years to come,’ Keleti is quoted the announcement. She entrusted the National Archives with the care of her professional portfolio and legacy.
‘Technology has advanced so much that virtually nothing can fade into oblivion. However, only I can tell the story behind the image, and the National Archives, with its internationally recognised technical expertise, can preserve these both intellectually and technically for future generations,’
the photographer noted in a previous interview.
‘Vienna is a significant cultural centre, and organising an exhibition here is an honour, a prestigious milestone not only for the National Photo Archive and public media but also for Hungarian culture. Preservation and respect for tradition are key tasks of public media, and the National Archives of MTVA pairs these with unique technological expertise. This guarantees the creation of synergies, which led Éva Keleti, an internationally acclaimed artist in photography, to choose us for the preservation of her works. The public media-managed National Archives houses the artist’s oeuvre, comprising thousands of photographs, with over 326,000 images and nearly one million press materials made accessible to everyone on its website,’ said Zoltán Pető, MTVA’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, during his opening speech.
Hungarian Ambassador to Austria Edit Szilágyi Bátorfi highlighted that the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to further develop Austrian–Hungarian cultural relations.
On Keleti’s 93rd birthday, 18 August, M5 public cultural television channel will air its self-produced documentary On the Wings of a Butterfly, providing insight into the artist’s childhood and presenting her sometimes tumultuous life stages, along with her love and dedication to her profession.
The Éva Keleti retrospective is open free of charge every day from Thursday onwards at the Collegium Hungaricum in Vienna.
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