ABOUT THE ARCHIVE
What inspired Gábor Karátson to paint? What made him write? What motivated him to explore the parallels between Eastern philosophy and European literature and philosophy? Answers to such questions can be found in the following two quotes, taken from Karátson’s article “Man and Hell”, which was published in the journal Vigilia:
“The four Gospels and the I Ching (although in entirely different spiritual and stylistic realms) interpret one another, and this parallel might suggest that the sacrificial descent into darkness and the return to light through the history of suffering … is the fundamental structure of life.”
“What is the Earth after all? Is it really an insignificant point in the universe, as we are taught by science?”
OUR ACTIVITIES
The establishment of the Gábor Karátson Archive and Research Workshop was made possible by Government Decree 1009/2020 (30th Jan).
The task of the Archive is to manage the bequest owned by the artist’s heirs and to make it available for research; to preserve the material and intellectual legacy of Gábor Karátson; to create a database; and to ensure the accessibility of the newly collated data.
The Archive is committed to exploring Gábor Karátson’s multifaceted work, presenting his philosophy of art and life, and disseminating knowledge drawing on the results of comprehensive research activities. This is the objective of our ongoing activities in the framework of the project.
THE ARCHIVE RESEARCH WORKSHOP
In the first phase of the project, we created the physical environment for the Gábor Karátson Archive and Research Hub in an office at 2 Ferenciek tere, III/18, Budapest, and drew up the respective organisational and operational rules.
WEBSITE AND DATABASE
The framework for our new website and for the digital database needed for the storage and processing of data is now in place.
TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS
The exhibition “Illustrations for Goethe’s Faust” opened on 9 September 2021 at the Szolnok Artists’ Colony. The next stop for the traveling exhibition was the House of Arts in Veszprém, where the artist’s work was on display from 13 November 2021 to 9 January 2022. Our plan is to curate exhibitions in at least two locations each year.
PLANNED BOOK SERIES
One of the priorities of the Gábor Karátson Archive and Research Hub is to publish a series of volumes exploring and examining the artist’s oeuvre. The first step in this multiannual project was the publication of the catalogue for the Faust exhibition in Szolnok, which is now available in both print and digital format. Preparations for a volume by András Lányi and the editing of Gábor Karátson’s poetry and essays are currently under way.
INTERVIEWS
The Archive is hoping to identify people who knew Gábor Karátson and who have documentary information, knowledge, and stories that can contribute to the exploration of his oeuvre. One of the Archive’s most important tasks at present is to research, edit, and publish existing video recordings.
STAFF
STAFF
Board of Trustees of the Gábor Karátson Archive and Research Workshop: Szilvia Granasztói, Dávid Karátson, János Karátson – the family of Gábor Karátson.
Archive-related activities are carried out under the direction of László Borbély, chief operating officer representing MANK Hungarian Creative Arts Nonprofit Ltd. Touring exhibitions are organised by Andrea Vizkeleti, while communication with the Board of Trustees is coordinated by Eszter Letrich.
Research and collection curation tasks for the Gábor Karátson Archive and Research Hub are undertaken by invited experts, all of whom are experienced representatives in their professional fields. Senior partners: Gábor Bellák – Fine Art Collection; Andrea Benkő – Manuscript, Document, and Relic Collection; Györgyi Fajcsák – Asian Collection; György Horváth – Photo and Audiovisual Database.
The Gábor Karátson library is maintained by librarians Andrea Székely and Iván Csámer.
Project manager: Gabriella Béni.