Kiss György, szobrászművész és Vagyóczky Károly, festőművész, grafikus (Vármúzeum, Estzergom, 2004)

OPENING ADDRESS It is a relatively known commonplace that the different branches of arts have also an impact on our everyday life. We often do not even realize that the "multiplied utilization" of values produced by artists help us find our way in human relations and relations to the world. The forms and colours of our clothing, as well as the patterns to forming our personal environment actually derive from the fine arts, as a source. Also in the field of our objects and symbols there are many "secondary utilizations" basing on the cultural heritage, resp. offer of the fine arts. From among these objects and symbols, the money has a unique role from the point of view of its aesthetic value. Money represents a material value on the basis of agreement, but it also serves our visual world in a form created by artists. They can be coins of metal, graphics, prints recalling paintings, but after all they are visual signs produced by the hand of artists, the determined material value of which can be increased and verified, if they qualify as fine art works, too. And this is true, as historical examples comfirm that the from time to time varying products of the thousand year old Hungarian money culture - which will soon be closed by the last forint series - are really also aesthetically excellent. On this exhibition two artists present themselves, whose activity is of determining importance not only in the Hungarian monetary art, but also in the Hungarian sculpture, coin art and graphics art. Besides his high value plastic arts products, sculptor György Kiss has created specially fine kinds of money coins according to the laws of highest level coin art. He has established his sculptural language by moving the surface in a dramatic form of contrasts, primarily by transferring expressive ideas and feelings. He has become an esteemed coin designer by his very fine motifs respecting also the laws of technology. The special expression of the proportions of positive-negative features, and the representation of inscriptions as individual compositions are quite unique in his works. The placement of patterns is very subjective and new in the Hungarian money culture, where, however, also traditional solutions are applied. Graphic artist Károly Vagyóczky has not only followed the classic tradition of highly precise performance in banknote making, but has raised it to an artistic value. Based on an absolutely brilliant drawing capability, he dominantly uses drawing elements when composing portraits and other images on banknotes, preserving also the features of the classic graphical multiplication, emphasized by printing multiplication. Thanks to his personal capabilities in workmanship, the banknotes are no more just symbols carrying a certain value, but are also arts works. Mr. Vagyóczky is a great master of the contemporary Hungarian graphic arts, his life-work serves as a basis to the realistic representation of money. To design and produce money is considered by both artists as a beautiful activity and a great challange. But they are primarily excellent fine artists, for whom coin and banknote design is just a concrete task. This concrete task is, however, supplemented by numerous "internal" orders, the quality of which is well represented by some reliefs and portraits shown in this exhibition. The everyday aesthetics should serve the man, but this is only possible, if the creators are performing on a perfect level, like György Kiss and Károly Vagyóczky. Loránd Bereczky art historian Director General of the Hungarian National Gallery

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