HUNGARY: Hungary's flagship fair for the art market is underway

The annual Antique Fair in Budapest, entitled Antik Enterior Exhibition and Fair, is the flagship show of the Hungarian art market, and some 60 exhibitors display several thousands of artworks in the Modern Art Museum every year just as the Christmas season begins. The strongest collections at this year's exhibit are 20th century Hungarian paintings. The highlight is a lesser-known work of one of Hungary's most famous painters, Tivadar Kosztka Csontvary. It is the first time the painting entitled 'Rendezvous' is exhibited publicly, and it will be featured at the upcoming winter auction of the Kieselbach Gallery, one of the leading Hungarian galleries. Other highlights include a mixed technique illustration by Chagall to "a La Fountaine tale", on sale for 520,000 euros. The annual antique fair began 15 years ago as the Hungarian art market expanded after the change of regime. Since then the art market has dynamically developed and grown by at least 15 times over the past 15 years, art experts say. "II think this is the most significant [antique] fair in central and eastern Europe. Obviously it cannot yet rival the great Viennese antique fairs that have several decades of traditions. This is the 13th antique interior fair here and I think it's developing dynamically, and there is serious potential, especially with more and more foreign galleries from France and England also exhibiting here," an art expert, Gabor Einspach said. At this year's fair a jury has graded the exhibits in order to improve the standards of the exhibition, as well as to exclude the counterfeit items that are emerging in the Hungarian art market. Camille Corot's painting entitled 'Landscape near Voisinlieu' is another highlight. It is exhibited by the Muterem Gallery, another leading auction house. Its co-owner is pleased with this year's fair. "The interest is really growing. We have had several fairs here in the Modern Art Museum over the years and there are more people every year as we could see at the opening reception. This is probably also thanks to the fact that the exhibited material is getting better and better. When I first walked around this year's fair I was very glad to see that the level of quality has greatly increased. This is probably due to the fact that this year there was a jury that surveyed the collections," art historian and co-owner of Muterem Gallery Judit Virag said. Apart from the paintings, prints, furniture, and other items, antique jewellery is also on sale at several venues of the fair. Organisers hope that the increasingly high standards of the exhibits will attract the world's leading art dealers, collectors and investors to the fair in the future.

ITN Source | November 27, 2006

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