Tamara Łempicka panel exhibition opened at REÖK in Szeged
A panel exhibition showcasing the life and work of Polish-born painter Tamara Łempicka opened Friday at the Reök Palace, the Regional Arts Center (REÖK) in Szeged.
The exhibition is bilingual, with all panels featuring both Hungarian and English text.
The Queen of Art Deco, Tamara Łempicka presents reproductions of 20th-century masterpieces by the artist, whose paintings sell for millions of dollars and are collected by celebrities including Madonna and Barbra Streisand. The exhibition was organized by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tamara Łempicka Estate, in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Budapest, the Honorary Consulate of Poland in Szeged and REÖK.
Łempicka, who taught herself to paint, became one of the most sought-after painters of the 1920s and 1930s. Highlights of the exhibition include reproductions of The Musician, which sold for $9 million in 2018 and appeared in Madonna’s Vogue video, and Portrait of Marjorie Ferry, whose original sold for more than $21 million in London five years ago. Also displayed is Adam and Eve, for which legend says Łempicka invited a Paris policeman to pose.
At the opening ceremony, Dr. Karol Biernacki, honorary consul of Poland in Szeged, said that during his 42 years in the city, no Polish art exhibition of this scale had been presented. Jarosław Bajaczyk, director of the Polish Institute, noted the exhibition had already drawn large crowds in Budapest and Pécs and said that Łempicka sold her paintings at the highest prices of her era, negotiating directly with clients and setting her own fees.
Dr. Róbert Nátyi, REÖK’s chief curator, highlighted that Łempicka’s life was as striking as her paintings, noting that she considered her entire life a work of art. Her ashes were scattered by helicopter into the crater of a Mexican volcano, according to her last wishes.
Following the opening, a book launch was held for Grzegorz Musiał’s novel Én, Tamara (I, Tamara), published in Hungarian. In connection with the exhibition, the Belvárosi Cinema will screen the documentary The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Art of Survival in English on Sept. 14 and Sept. 26.
Bajaczyk added that if plans succeed, an exhibition of Łempicka’s original works could be seen in two to three years at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, with the Polish Institute working actively to make the project happen.
The exhibition runs through Sept. 28.
Photos: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify
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