Nearly 900 entries submitted for 21st painting biennale at REÖK in Szeged

NewsCulture

Apr 10

Visitors at the 20th Painting Biennale at the REÖK Palace in Szeged. — *Visitors at the 20th Painting Biennale at the REÖK Palace, 2024, Szeged. Photo: Szegedify / Szilvia Molnar*

SZEGED, Hungary — Jury selection has been completed for the 21st Painting Biennale, one of Hungary’s major recurring contemporary art exhibitions, with organizers reporting a record level of nearly 900 submitted works ahead of the show’s opening in May at the REÖK Palace.

The exhibition, held biennially at the Art Nouveau landmark in downtown Szeged, will present nearly 130 selected works following a competitive selection process led by chief curator Dr. Róbert Nátyi and fellow jury members, painters Andrea Papageorgiu and Szilárd Cseke.

The number of submissions marks a significant increase compared with the previous edition in 2024, when about 650 works were entered and around 130 were ultimately exhibited.

Organizers said the biennale continues to operate under an open-call system, with applications submitted online to ensure equal opportunities for all artists. Works created within the past two years were eligible, reflecting the exhibition’s aim to provide a snapshot of current trends in Hungarian painting.

Alongside open-call submissions, the exhibition will also feature invited artists, including recipients of Hungary’s prestigious Munkácsy Mihály and Kossuth Prizes, maintaining a balance between established names and emerging talent.

Curators emphasized that while the growing number of applications highlights the vitality of the contemporary painting scene, the biennale remains focused on quality, with the final selection representing the most relevant artistic directions today. The exhibition layout is also designed to allow individual works to stand out within the space.

First held in 1983, the Painting Biennale is one of the country’s longstanding national showcases of contemporary painting, offering a recurring overview of the field every two years.

The full list of selected works, along with details on artwork collection dates in Budapest and Szeged, has been published on the REÖK website.

The 21st Painting Biennale is scheduled to open on May 16 at the REÖK Regional Art Center, located in Szeged’s iconic Reök Palace, which regularly hosts modern and contemporary art exhibitions.

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