Forty galleries with thousands of artworks, including pieces by Simon Hantai and Judit Reigl, along with a silver dining set by Ferenc Kossuth, await visitors at the Art and Antique exhibition and fair from 29 February to 3 March in Budapest, at the Bálna event hall. The event also hosts an online charity auction, with proceeds this year benefiting the Opera House Ballet Students Foundation.
At this classic and contemporary art event, the Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts Gallery will exhibit Judit Reigl’s 1955 piece titled Black Explosion, which is exceptionally intriguing from both an art historical and collector’s perspective. This painting, from a pivotal period in the artist’s career, is internationally recognized within Hungarian contemporary painting. Its counterparts enrich the collections of prestigious institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum, Guggenheim and Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Initio Arts & Design presents one of the most renowned Hungarian abstract painters, Simon Hantai,
with a painting at the annual showcase of the Hungarian art market. The artwork from 1971, valued at approximately 100 million forints, emerged from a private collection in France after more than 50 years. Hantai’s previous record was 1.4 billion forints, paid at a foreign auction for one of his works. His paintings were recently exhibited at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, as well as at the renowned Gagosian Gallery in Rome. In Budapest, they were featured at the Kunsthalle (Műcsarnok) during the Judit Reigl exhibition, and also at the HAB group exhibition.
Nemes Gallery brings one of the most significant pieces from Gyula Batthyány’s oeuvre, the painting titled Storm at the Horse Race, to the fair. The painting remained hidden for almost a century and is one of Batthyány’s most modern works, bearing the characteristics of Art Deco. Previously owned by an American oil magnate, the painting will be displayed alongside furniture, sculptures, antique books, jewellery, and carpets for the audience to admire.
At the Nudelman Numismatica stand, visitors can see two tapestries by Ilona Keserü, inspired by her 1979 artwork titled We’re Going to Szentendre.
Additionally, they will exhibit a 12-person dining set adorned with the Kossuth family crest. Stored in its original wooden box with deer skin lining, the 230-piece silver dining set was once owned by Ferenc Kossuth, former Minister of Commerce and son of Lajos Kossuth, with an estimated value of 16.5 million forints.
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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/Art and Antique/MTI
