Árpád Forgó (Budapest, HU)
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Árpád Forgó considers his practice a series of ongoing experiments, driven by a deep curiosity about perception, space, and the body. His works seek simplicity and formal reduction, yet they are far from static. By employing geometric strategies such as mirroring, rotation, and shifting, Forgó generates rhythmic structures that oscillate between precision and playfulness. His art is an invitation to reconsider how we perceive, inhabit, and reveal space.
Working in the tradition of the Hungarian Neo-Avant-Garde, Forgó extends the legacy of European abstraction into the present. Rather than treating the canvas as a flat surface, he reshapes it into a sculptural object, giving form to a subtle tension between plane and volume. Each piece is constructed from a carefully defined modular system, emphasizing rhythm, balance, and spatial dialogue. The modules are reduced to their most fundamental elements — form and color — resulting in unique dimensional constructions that preserve the material’s inherent integrity and highlight its quiet beauty.
Forgó’s career has been marked by a rich international trajectory. Between 2008 and 2025, the former Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant recipient was invited to numerous artist-in-residence programs worldwide, including the CCA Andratx in Mallorca, the Montresso Art Foundation in Marrakech, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai, the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavpils, the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation in New Berlin, the Hungarian Academy in Rome, and many more across Europe, the United States, and Australia. Each residency has left a trace in his evolving formal vocabulary, expanding his engagement with space, materiality, and perception.
Today, Forgó’s works can be found in major public and private collections, including the Mark Rothko Art Centre (LV), the Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History (HU), Museum Ritter (DE), the Swatch Art Collection (CH), and the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts Collection (US). These holdings testify to the resonance of his practice, which continues to explore the possibilities of geometry, rhythm, and spatial experience.
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Árpád Forgó versteht seine künstlerische Praxis als eine Reihe fortlaufender Experimente, getragen von einer tiefen Neugier für Wahrnehmung, Raum und Körper. Seine Arbeiten streben nach Einfachheit und formaler Reduktion, sind jedoch alles andere als statisch. Durch geometrische Strategien wie Spiegelung, Rotation und Verschiebung entstehen rhythmische Strukturen, die zwischen Präzision und Verspieltheit oszillieren. Seine Kunst lädt dazu ein, die eigene Wahrnehmung von Raum, dessen Aneignung und Offenlegung neu zu überdenken.
In der Tradition der ungarischen Neo-Avantgarde stehend, führt Forgó das Erbe der europäischen Abstraktion in die Gegenwart fort. Anstatt die Leinwand als flache Oberfläche zu behandeln, verwandelt er sie in ein skulpturales Objekt und verleiht so der subtilen Spannung zwischen Fläche und Volumen Gestalt. Jedes Werk entsteht aus einem sorgfältig definierten modularen System, das Rhythmus, Balance und räumlichen Dialog betont. Die Module sind auf ihre elementarsten Bestandteile – Form und Farbe – reduziert, wodurch einzigartige, dreidimensionale Konstruktionen entstehen, die die materielle Integrität bewahren und deren stille Schönheit hervorheben.
Forgós Laufbahn ist von einer reichen internationalen Entwicklung geprägt. Zwischen 2008 und 2025 war der ehemalige Pollock-Krasner-Stipendiat zu zahlreichen Artist-in-Residence-Programmen weltweit eingeladen, darunter das CCA Andratx auf Mallorca, die Montresso Art Foundation in Marrakesch, die Josef und Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, das Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai, das Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavpils, die Sam & Adele Golden Foundation in New Berlin, die Ungarische Akademie in Rom sowie viele weitere in Europa, den Vereinigten Staaten und Australien. Jede Residenz hat Spuren in seinem sich stetig entwickelnden Formenvokabular hinterlassen und sein Engagement für Raum, Materialität und Wahrnehmung erweitert.
Heute sind Forgós Werke in bedeutenden öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen vertreten, darunter das Mark Rothko Art Centre (LV), das Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History (HU), das Museum Ritter (DE), die Swatch Art Collection (CH) sowie die Sammlung der Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts (US). Diese Bestände zeugen von der Strahlkraft seiner Praxis, die weiterhin die Möglichkeiten von Geometrie, Rhythmus und räumlicher Erfahrung erforscht.
Lives and works in Budapest, HU / Lebt und arbeitet in Budapest, HU
*1972
Awards / Auszeichnungen
2003
Leonardo da Vinci Contemporary Art Biennale - 3rd prize, Rome, IT
2019-2020
Pollock-Krasner Foundation recipient
Solo exhibitions / Einzelausstellungen
2026
Schlieder Contemporary, Frankfurt, DE
2025
Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, US
2024
SPARK Art Fair (Solo Ausstellung), Wien, AT mit Schlieder Contemporary, Frankfurt, DE
2023
Schlieder Contemporary, Frankfurt, DE
Galeria Milano, Warschau, PL
2022
Suspended Time, Hybridart Space, Budapest, HU
Reflexive Surfaces, Paks Art Gallery, Paks, HU
2021
Cherry on Top, ENA Viewing Space, Budapest, HU
Attached, Saturation Point, London, GB
2020
Colliding Parallels, Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, US
2019
Summer is not over yet, Milano Gallery, Warschau, PL
2018
Beyond the Frame, Viltin Gallery, Budapest, HU
Phase, Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Győr, HU
2017
Tales from the first floor, Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas, US
Second Round, Milano Gallery, Warschau, PL
2016
Transitions, with Alicja Gaskon, Platán Gallery, Budapest, HU
Colour Kitchen, with Edith Lundebrekke, Babel Art Space, Trondheim, NO
2015
Looking Round a Different Corner, Anya Tish Gallery, Texas, US
2014
Meeting of Parallel Thoughts, with Jerzy Grochocki, Hungarian Cultural Institute, Warschau, PL
Inner Space, Milano Gallery, Warschau, PL
2013
Polarity, with Riki Mijling, Susan Andrews, SNO Gallery, Sydney, AU
2011
Warsaw Variations, Hungarian Cultural Institute, Warschau, PL
2010
Blind Date, Hungarian Cultural Center, Brüssel, BE
Forgometry, Gallery Suez, Den Haag, NL
2009
Hommage a Octagon, Galerija Laterna, Crnomelj, SI
2008
Bimanal, The Geshwin Hotel Gallery, New York, US
2006
Ramifications, Merlin, Budapest, HU
2005
Dice, Retorta Gallery, Budapest, HU
Desire for the one, Trafik Gallery, Budapest, HU
2003
Bales, Iletisim Kitabevi Gallery, Izmir, TK
Group exhibitions / Gruppenausstellungen
2025
Art Toronto, Schlieder Contemporary, Toronto, CA
Positions Art Fair, Galerie Biesenbach, Berlin DE
Schlieder Contemporary, Frankfurt, DE
2024
Molnár Ani Gallery, Budapest, HU
Vasarely Museum, Budapest, HU
nonsofia gallery, Sofia, BG
Montresso Art Foundation, Marrakesch, MA
&Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Klaipeda Cultural Communication Center, Klaipeda, LT
art Karlsruhe, Schlieder Contemporary, Karlsruhe, DE
Galerie Biesenbach, Köln, DE
Ungarisches Kulturinstitut, Brüssel, BE
2023
Schlieder Contemporary, Frankfurt, DE
Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge, UK
Shaped Colours, Galerie Biesenbach, Köln, DE
Schlieder Contemporary, Frankfurt, DE
2021
Sculptural.Painting., Galerie Biesenbach, Köln, DE
Contraction & Release, AiS Gallery, Shibukawa, JP
Rinko-Kaku Tea House Project 2021, Maebashi, Gunma, JP
2020
Iced Ice, Proto Gomez Gallery, New York, US
Monochromos, Galerie Biesenbach, Köln, DE
Paint vs. Colour, Five Walls, Melbourne, AU
Rinko-Kaku Project, Rinko-Kaku Tea House, Gunma, JP
2019
The Hungarian Scene, Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, DE
Bauhaus 100. Programme For The Now, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, HU
Bauhaus 100., Vasarely Museum, Budapest, HU
2018
Abstract, Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Györ, HU
International Painting Symposium, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
2017
Stories To Be Told, raum2810 gallery, Bonn, DE
Geometric Generations, FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture, HU
Light Positions, Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Györ, HU
Das Esszimmer - space for art+, Weltraum Pop-up, Basel, CH
Made in Paint, Golden Gallery, New Berlin, NY, US
Forms of Everydayness, Latarka Gallery, Budapest, HU
2016
Planar and Spatial Reflections, B55 Gallery, Budapest, HU
x-play, Viltin Gallery, Budapest, HU
2015
Spazi Aperti XIIIa Edizione 2015, Accademia di Romania, Rom, IT
2014
In Glorious Colour by Saatchi Art, Griffin Gallery, London, UK
2010
2nd International Biennial of Painters and Sculptors, Milesi Palace, Split, HR
2009
10th Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, University of Hawaii Art Gallery, Honolulu, US
Paintpresent, Loudoun House, Lexington, US
2008
Grand Small Works Show, The FUEL House, Philadelphia, US
WHITE/BOX/GROUP/SHOW2, West Tampa Center for the Arts, Tampa, US
Premio Profilo d’Arte 2008, Museo della Permanente, Mailand, IT
2007
Mantras of nature, 100King Gallery, Budapest, HU
2003
Leonardo Da Vinci Contemporary Art Biennale, Rom, IT / 3. Preis
Artist-in-residence Programs
2025
CCA Andratx, Mallorca, ES
2023
Montresso Art Foundation, Marrakesch, MA
2019
The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, US
2018
The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai, CN
Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
2017
Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Györ, HU
2016
The Sam & Adele Golden Foundation, New Berlin, US
Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder, Trondheim, NO
Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Györ HU
2015
Ungarische Akademie Rom, IT
Vermont Studio Center, VT, US
2013
Druskininkai Artists' Residence, Druskininkai, LT
Sydney Non-Objective Contemporary Art Projects, Sydney, AU
2011
Visegrad Artist Residency Program, Heppen Transfer Gallery, Warschau, PL
2008
Can Serrat International Art Center, El Bruc, ES
Gershwin Artist-in-Residence, New York, US
Collections / Sammlungen
Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, LV
Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Györ, HU
Museum Ritter - Collection Marli Hoppe-Ritter, Waldenbuch, DE
The Swatch Art Collection, Biel, CH
The Ritz-Carlton Collection, Budapest, HU
The Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts Collection, New Berlin, US
Andersen GmbH Rechtsberatung Steuerberatung, Berlin, DE