In February 2024, we had the opportunity to present artworks created at the Cered Art Colony in another group exhibition. The exhibition took place at the Neon Gallery in Wrocław, organized jointly by the ArtColony Cered and the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Eugeniusza Gepperta we Wrocławiu). The curators of the exhibition were Marek Sienkiewicz, Miroslav Zelinský, and Vladimir Kovařik.

On February 5, 2024, an international exhibition titled “Sites and Roots” opened at the Neon Gallery in Wrocław, Poland. The event, organized jointly by the ArtColony Cered and the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Eugeniusza Gepperta we Wrocławiu), marks the continuation of a decade-long partnership between the two institutions.

As the name suggests, the exhibition showcased a selection of artworks by artists affiliated with the ArtColony, which has been operating for almost thirty years. Many of the participating artists have collaborated on thematic international symposia in Cered multiple times, creating artworks that encapsulate the unique atmosphere and spirit of the Cered Art Colony, known as the “Genius Loci.” These artistic expressions adorned the walls of the Neon Gallery.

Photo: Michał Pietrzak | Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Eugeniusza Gepperta we Wrocławiu

In 2022, the Fx Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, hosted the exhibition, followed by the G18 Gallery at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic, in 2023, which presented a selection of artworks from the ArtColony Cered. The exhibition held at the Neon Gallery served as the next installment in the series of international exhibitions of ArtColony Cered.

The exhibition was open for viewing from February 5 to 26, 2024.

The creation of the Art Colony was supported by the Waczław Felczak Foundation.

At the opening, speeches were delivered by: Dr. habil. Magda Grzybowska, Professor of Fine Arts I Dr. Marek Sienkiewicz, Associate Professor of Fine Arts I Csaba Fürjesi, Artist and Artistic Director of the Art Colony

The opening speech was given by Dr. Róbert Nátyi, Art Historian.

The curators of the exhibition were Marek Sienkiewicz, Miroslav Zelinský, and Vladimir Kovařik.

A special collaboration partner was Magda Grzybowska.

Below is the speech given by Dr. Róbert Nátyi, art historian and curator, during the opening ceremony, shared without alterations:

“The Cered Art Colony was established in 1996. Like many international and domestic counterparts over the past two centuries, it emerged as a private initiative among colleagues who shared a passion for art, situated in a fantastic natural environment. The first years were spent getting to know each other, positioning, and defining ourselves. During this period, graphic art predominated, in accordance with the available resources. Gradually, alongside the internationalization, painting and other forms of art also found their place in the repertoire.

Today, we can rightly say that the activities of the artists here have become integral to village life. They have not only left their mark on the surrounding area but also become a starting point for long-term development plans and the renewal of the village.

In Cered, a continuously evolving, renewing, and impactful program is unfolding before our eyes. We can observe the expansion of the concept of the traditional art colony, which by its nature has preserved certain elements from the two-hundred-year-old tradition while also receiving increasingly distinctive characterization from contemporary thinking. The created artworks simultaneously serve as guardians of tradition and tools for creating new traditions.

In the Cered model, the past intertwines with the present and points decisively towards the future, simultaneously addressing and articulating experimental responses to the issues of locality and globality that often arise in today’s world.

Indeed, if we consider the geographical matrix of the invited participants, a remarkably wide imaginary map unfolds before our eyes. Hungarian, Slovakian, Czech, Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, Belgian, English, German, Austrian, Italian, French, Slovenian, Serbian, Romanian, Argentinean, Australian, Malaysian, Emirati, Mexican, Japanese artists have all participated in the colony’s work.

The place-specific thinking is manifested not only in the physical layout of the art colony and its surroundings but also on a spiritual level – supported by the series of thematic art colonies expanding year by year.

Over the period since 1996, the Cered Art Colony has not only joined the large group of art colonies established in the 1990s but has also made its mark on the Hungarian and European artistic map. With its comprehensive goals and their consistent realization year after year, it serves as a model for similar initiatives of the present and future.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your kind attention.

Dr. Róbert Nátyi
Art historian and curator”

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