Lower Austrian Fine Arts Exhibition at Vigadó
A joint exhibition of HAA and the Lower Austrian Government Office opened at Vigadó, the centre of HAA, entitled The Glory of Beauty. The exhibition, which can be visited in the exhibition space on the 5th floor until 24 August, is featuring large-scale works by four Lower Austrian artists – Eduard Angeli, Franziska Maderthaner, Rudolf Leitner-Gründberg and Johann Berger. The exhibition is curated by Carl Aigner and co-organized by HAA. The exhibition was opened by Zoltán Rátóti, Vice-President of HAA on 27 June, and the ceremonial event was attended by Attila Turi, President of HAA, among others.
In connection with the Hungarian Presidency of the Danube Regions Working Group (ARGE Donauländer) in 2023 and Hungary's EU Presidency in 2024 six Hungarian artists were invited in cooperation with HAA to present their works under the title Young Contemporary Hungarian Artists 2024 at the Ausstellungsbrücke Gallery, run by the Province of Lower Austria in St. Pölten.
This collaboration, which dates back to 2020, continues in Budapest in 2025. Under the title The Glory of Beauty four Lower Austrian artists is presenting themselves at Vigadó. The exhibition examines different aspects of beauty with the help of contemporary, diverse paintings and sculptures, without making beauty an explicit, reflective theme of the works. Beauty is also understood as a mental dimension of perception, encompassing temporality, emotions such as melancholy, longing, transience, or transformation.
Zoltán Rátóti, Vice-President of HAA emphasized in his speech at the opening of the exhibition: "Among the goals of the Hungarian Academy of Arts is the preservation and transmission of our cultural values - both here and across the border. At the same time, dialogue and establishing contacts are also important to us, especially with neighboring countries with which we share a common historical and cultural past. This exhibition is also intended to display this common intellectual space and the strength inherent in our similarities. (…) The works on display here were created out of a desire for beauty and with the intention of showing beauty - and this is how they address the visitor."
Karl Wilfing, President of the Lower Austrian Parliament, on behalf of Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, emphasized that cross-border relations with neighbouring Hungary had traditionally been a priority for the province of Lower Austria – there is a diverse cultural exchange between the two countries in various fields, such as music, monument protection, literature and fine arts. The cooperation between HAA and the Lower Austrian Government Office began in 2020, which resulted in the organization of two joint exhibitions: Verstrichene Zeit and Young Hungarian Contemporaries. The current exhibition is a continuation of the two joint exhibitions.
The exhibition was opened by the curator, Carl Aigner. The opening of the exhibition was attended by, among others, Attila Turi, President of HAA, Astrid Harz, Ambassador of Austria to Hungary, Thomas Obernosterer, Director of the Lower Austrian Parliament, Hermann Dikowitsch, Head of the Department of Arts and Culture of the Lower Austrian Government Office, Katka Krejcova, Head of International Relations of the Department of Arts and Culture of the Lower Austrian Government Office, and exhibiting artists Rudolf Leitner-Gründberg, Franziska Maderthaner and Johann Berger.
This collaboration, which dates back to 2020, continues in Budapest in 2025. Under the title The Glory of Beauty four Lower Austrian artists is presenting themselves at Vigadó. The exhibition examines different aspects of beauty with the help of contemporary, diverse paintings and sculptures, without making beauty an explicit, reflective theme of the works. Beauty is also understood as a mental dimension of perception, encompassing temporality, emotions such as melancholy, longing, transience, or transformation.
Zoltán Rátóti, Vice-President of HAA emphasized in his speech at the opening of the exhibition: "Among the goals of the Hungarian Academy of Arts is the preservation and transmission of our cultural values - both here and across the border. At the same time, dialogue and establishing contacts are also important to us, especially with neighboring countries with which we share a common historical and cultural past. This exhibition is also intended to display this common intellectual space and the strength inherent in our similarities. (…) The works on display here were created out of a desire for beauty and with the intention of showing beauty - and this is how they address the visitor."
Karl Wilfing, President of the Lower Austrian Parliament, on behalf of Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, emphasized that cross-border relations with neighbouring Hungary had traditionally been a priority for the province of Lower Austria – there is a diverse cultural exchange between the two countries in various fields, such as music, monument protection, literature and fine arts. The cooperation between HAA and the Lower Austrian Government Office began in 2020, which resulted in the organization of two joint exhibitions: Verstrichene Zeit and Young Hungarian Contemporaries. The current exhibition is a continuation of the two joint exhibitions.
The exhibition was opened by the curator, Carl Aigner. The opening of the exhibition was attended by, among others, Attila Turi, President of HAA, Astrid Harz, Ambassador of Austria to Hungary, Thomas Obernosterer, Director of the Lower Austrian Parliament, Hermann Dikowitsch, Head of the Department of Arts and Culture of the Lower Austrian Government Office, Katka Krejcova, Head of International Relations of the Department of Arts and Culture of the Lower Austrian Government Office, and exhibiting artists Rudolf Leitner-Gründberg, Franziska Maderthaner and Johann Berger.
July 2, 2025
