Twentieth edition of the KASZ+ Creative Workshop
The 20th Steel Sculptural Symposium of Kecskemét has started today, lasting from 5 to 23 June. This year, nine internationally renowned artists are visiting the KÉSZ Industrial and Innovation Park. This industrial creative environment is truly unique, and the artists are assisted in the creation of their works by KÉSZ Group employees, including CNC operators, welders and engineers.
"This year holds special significance for us, as it is our anniversary year. We started planning the Steel Sculptural Symposium of Kecskemét, KASZ, in 2004. Now we face the 20th edition. The creative workshop has strong artistic references from previous years, the works have already been shown in several major exhibitions in Hungary and abroad, and it is also a great opportunity for participants to establish good contacts and exchange ideas," - said István Árvai, artistic director of K-ARTS Foundation for the Arts.
The co-curator of István Árvai at the anniversary symposium is art historian Katalin T. Nagy, curator of the Antal-Lusztig Collection.
Also attending: artists from Japan, Finland and Norway
Two of the invited artists are from Kecskemét: Painter Gábor Király, who is determined to learn to weld and make his debut as a sculptor this year, and Gyula Majoros, a founding member of KASZ, who will again this year make the metal tell stories under his hands.
Flying in from Norway is Anne-Karin Furunes, a visual artist who explores the past by processing archival photographs and displaying them broken down to pixels. Also visiting Kecskemét is another Norwegian artist, Kalle Eriksson, who will experiment with metal sheets to create installations and vitreous enamel surfaces. From Finland comes Hilda Kozári of Hungarian origin, who has been exploring the combined role of the different senses in her work and during exhibitions for many years. Markus Kahre, a sculptor who often uses mirrors and other optical illusion techniques in his work also comes from Helsinki.
From Finland comes Hilda Kozári of Hungarian origin, who has been exploring the combined role of the different senses in her work and during exhibitions for many years. Markus Kahre, a sculptor who often uses mirrors and other optical illusion techniques in his work also comes from Helsinki.
The German guest of the workshop is a contemporary German-Hungarian painter living in Berlin, Lilla von Puttkamer, who has many ties to Hungary through her Hungarian mother.
Fukui Yusuke, a Japanese painter living in Hungary, last visited the steel sculptural creative camp in Kecskemét in 2018. Five years ago, he has been painting on linen canvas with iron dust, rust and steel particles – steelwork by-products – but he has also made a spectacular calligraphy (picture poem) from 25 mm-thick steel sheet.
Currently living in Switzerland, sculptor Ottó Szabó , who creates under the name Robotto, will also attend, creating his sculptures from found objects, industrial parts and scrap metal.
The international art camp is concluded by a summary exhibition, which will open on 23 June at 4PM in the underground garage of the IQ Kecskemét office building and will be accepting visitors until 31 July. The exhibition will also be available to visit on the Night of the Museums on 24 June.