János Major was born in Budapest in 1934. In an interview in the 90s, he named among his influences the Hungarian artists Gyula Derkovits, István Dési Huber, József Jakovits and Lajos Vajda. He said seeing reproductions of Max Ernst's work had liberated him, and that the technical skills and intellectual courage of his contemporary Béla Kondor had inspired him.
Major attended Álmos Jaschik's drawing school and joined Béla Bán's class at the Fine Arts College in 1952. But Bán was dismissed from the college in 1954, and most of his students, including Major, were expelled afterward. Major went to work making radios and televisions at the Orion factory in Budapest. There he drew portraits of his female coworkers and made studies of the workers? life. In 1956, Károly Koffán helped Major to return to the Fine Arts College, where he completed his studies in 1959.
Although a bit of a recluse, Major did participate in a number of exhibitions organised by his contemporaries, the so-called "Industrial Plan Generation", and eventually came to be recognised as an important representative of Hungary?s neo-avant-garde movement.
Major aimed to grasp the tragic in his works, though in an ironic and grotesque manner. In the mid-60s, Major?s began to focus on coincidence, the renderings of which marked the apex of his career.
The Kiscelli Museum is located at Kiscelli u. 108 in Budapest?s District III. Opening hours are from 10:00 until 18:00 on Tuesday through Sunday.
The János Major exhibition is open from May 18 until July 2.
Source: www.artnet.hu
