Lifework exhibition of István Vidák

Folk artist and member of MMA, István Vidák, who is going to be 70 years old in September, is having a lifework exhibition at Vigadó. The exhibition entitled Travelling in Noah's Ark and organized by MMA's Section of Folk Art expresses the very nature of his work, since he has handed down traditions to the next generations as well as renewed and revived such traditions. His lifework is based on three pillars: research, creation and inheritance.
György Fekete, the President of MMA said at the opening ceremony that the exhibition was breathtaking and was surprising even for those who knew and had been following the art of István Vidák and of his wife, Mária Nagy. Because their arts are basically unseparable. György Fekete also said that it was long years since he saw such a modern display stressing that as an interior designer he could not imagine an interior in which the displayed works would have not been fitting.
Ethnographer László Koppány Csáji characterized the art of husband and wife the following way in his appraisal of the artist at the event of his inaugural speech at MMA: "There are people whose names have become connected with one of their artworks or creations. Concerning István Vidák, such an association would also be tempting and, in fact, easy to make: he is not only the re-discoverer of felt art, the expert to have started education about felt art but also the pioneer of the contemporary application of this art as well as the inventor and first organizer of the world meeting of feltmakers; and, because of this, he is also a world-famous collector of felt folklore besides being a textile artist himself. Nevertheless, we need to see beyond the spotlight of this success as it is difficult to talk about István Vidák alone since he created his lifework jointly with his wife Mari Nagy. They boast of a great number of joint creations, and their objectives and artworks also inseparably link them."
August 15, 2017