(Boston) – The Boston University School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents the group exhibition Creating Freedom: From Post-Revolutionary to Post-Communist Art in Hungary, A Selection of Forty Years of Hungarian art from the Nancy G. Brinker Collection, on view Tuesday, November 3 through Friday, December 11, 2009 at the Sherman Gallery at Boston University.
Creating Freedom presents a selection of work by contemporary Hungarian artists created since 1956 from the collection of Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The artists in the exhibition courageously address in their work key political and social issues deemed off-limits during the turbulent decades of the late 20th century and collectively share a commitment to freedom of expression in the face of censorship and persecution by the totalitarian regimes.
Curated by Eva Forgacs, Creating Freedom features paintings from Communist decades in Hungary, including the photo-based works of László Fehér, Károly Kelemen and László Lakner, who were rebellious in their pursuit of truth; the geometric abstraction of István Nádler; the assertively feminine imagery of Ilona Keserü; and the impulsively informal painting of Károly Klimó and Krisztián Frey. In addition to the political satire of Sándor Pinczehelyi and the idiosyncratic abstract works of Ákos Birkás, these artists and their works walk the viewer through an historical period when deviation from the official norms of populism was not tolerated.
Also integrated into the exhibition are works from the post-Communist era,, demonstrating that there was no clear division between “before” and “after.” As comparison between past and present, the exhibition illustrates that László Fehér is just as socially sensitive when he paints the Budapest homeless of the present as he had been when he represented a socialist brigade. Nádler has made further forays into a broader spiritual realm, while Attila Szücs, a representative of the younger generation, confronts us with the chilling impersonality of our brave new world.
The Nancy G. Brinker Collection comprises a rich survey of over five decades of Hungarian art. The collection holds works both by the masters of Hungarian modernism, such as Róbert Berény and Sándor Bortnyik, as well as works by the succeeding generations of contemporary artists. As Steven Mansbach, professor of twentieth century art at the University of Maryland, has written, the Nancy G. Brinker Collection “demonstrates the dynamic qualities and variability of modern art itself, while reflecting the creative curiosity, open-minded nature, and discriminating taste of Ambassador Brinker.”
Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker is regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement as the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in 1982, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 1983.
In 2009, President Barack Obama honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for this work. The same year, she was named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations’ World Health Organization, where she continues her mission to put cancer control at the top of the world health agenda. Brinker was named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2008. She served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary from 2001 to 2003, and most recently served as U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007 to2009, where she was responsible for overseeing all protocol matters for visiting heads of state and presidential travel abroad. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed her to the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.
She has received numerous other accolades for her work, including the prestigious Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Trumpet Foundation’s President’s Award, the Independent Women’s Forum Barbara K. Olson Woman of Valor Award, the Champions of Excellence Award presented by the Center for Disease Control, the Porter Prize presented by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, the Forbes Trailblazer Award, Ladies Home Journal's 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century, and Biography Magazine's 25 Most Powerful Women in America.
The Boston University School of Visual Arts at the College of Fine Arts is a community of artists within a great university and in a city that offers diversity within a vibrant arts culture. Founded in 1954 as a professional training school at Boston University, the school offers an intensive program of studio training combined with liberal arts studies leading to the Bachelor’s of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees. The first-rate teaching and mentoring of its regular faculty is supplemented by a vibrant program of visiting artists, guest lecture series, and exhibitions. The School offers introductory and advanced classes in painting, sculpture, graphic design, art education, ceramics, photography, glassblowing, and printmaking. A solid background in art history, contemporary critical analysis, and liberal arts complements the studio arts courses.
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