1952 - Painter
Biography
István Nyári graduated in 1977 from the Hungarian College of Applied Arts with a degree in advertising graphics and has been active in the field of visual arts since 1978. His work became renowned at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s for hyper realistic, photorealistic paintings, such as "Csirkeragu" (Chicken Stew) (1981, Szombathely Art Gallery). This style, characterized by detailed, precise, but emotionless depictions and montage-like connections of various motifs, was pursued for over a decade. Later, his interest shifted to the relationship between kitsch and fine art, which defined his reliefs, objects, and object compositions.
In addition to solo exhibitions, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions both in Hungary and internationally, including in the United States, Belgium, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Spain, and Switzerland. In London, the National Portrait Gallery selected one of his paintings, which was subsequently exhibited in Scotland and Wales. His works are found in several Hungarian public collections and a significant number enrich private collections in Australia, the USA, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary.
Since 1994, publications on Nyári's art have been regularly released; both renowned Hungarian experts and critics from Switzerland and Spain have addressed his work. One of the United States' most popular online art magazines, Juxtapoz, published an extensive, illustrated article about him, later followed by art-sheep magazine. In 2019, he was listed among the most expensive living and deceased Hungarian artists. Although Nyári sympathizes with the Lowbrow art movement, he considers himself primarily a pop-surrealist artist.
In the early stages of his career, he worked as an advertising graphic designer, designing covers for numerous significant music albums in both classical and popular music. His notable works include covers for the Omega band’s "Gammapolis" and "Az arc," (The Face) as well as the Hobo Blues Band's "Középeurópai Hobo Blues."
Nyári also designed the covers for the first issues of the samizdat magazine Beszélő, (Speaker) which he printed with Miklós Haraszti. He worked as a visual designer for the Omega band, a costume designer for the Hobo Blues Band, and developed the visual world for Gábor Bódy’s film "Narcissus and Psyche," collaborating with Gábor Bachman.
"Nyári is best known for his paintings that balance on the edge of (hyper) realism and pop-surrealism, filling entire walls. His works are generally discussed in terms of post-human visions, kitsch elements, absurd situations, and phenomena selected from various subcultures, which satirically and almost frighteningly reflect the absurdities of the 21st-century consumer society and the oppressive fixations of our objectified environment." (Source: Új Művészet (New Art, Attila Sirbik)
Solo
2024 - Art Market - solo exhibition from the Horn Collection
2021: David Kovats Gallery, London
2017: Beauty & Beast, NextArt Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2016: kArton Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2013: Virág Judit Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2008: White Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2007: White Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2006: White Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2004: MEO – Contemporary Art Collection, Budapest, Hungary
2003: Galamb Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2001: XO Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
1999: XO Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
1996: Vigadó Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
1994: Várfok Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
1992: István Király Museum, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
1991: Dorottya Street Exhibition Hall, Budapest, Hungary
1985: Liget Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
1976: Young Artists Club, Budapest, Hungary
Group
2015: Frissen (Freshly) – Directly from the Studio, Kunsthalle Budapest, Hungary
2014: Kápolna Gallery, Kecskemét - Border Phenomena - Transformations of the Human Body, Museums Night, Hungary
2013: Deadly Nature – Modem, Debrecen, Hungary
2011: Mexico Sinestro, Resistance Gallery, London
2011: BP Portrait Award, Aberdeen Art Gallery
2011: BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London
2010: The Most Colorful Summer, BUMBUM, Budapest, Hungary
2009: Contemporary and Classical Selected Works, BUMBUM, Budapest, Hungary
2008: White Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2007: White Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2006: "Hommage à Sándor Márai," Home Gallery, Budapest "One for All and All for One," Aeroplastics Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2005: "Playtime," Aeroplastics Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2003: "Even Santa is Human," MEO, Budapest
2002: "Inherited Realism," Szombathelyi Képtár, Szombathely, Hungary
2002: KunstZurich, Zürich, Switzerland
2001: "Within and Beyond Sculpture," Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
2000: KunstZurich, Zürich, Switzerland "Dialogue," Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
1997: "Oil/Canvas," Kunsthalle, Budapest "Diaspora (And) Art," Dohány Street Synagogue, Budapest, Hungary
1996: "Situation Image," Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
1995: "Art of the 80s," Ernst Museum, Budapest, Hungary
1993: "Nueva Pittura del Este," Galeria del Arte Detursa, Madrid, Spain
1990: "Body-ks," Budapest Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
1987: "Magical Works," Szombathely, Hungary
1986: Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
1984: "Approx. 50515253 cca," Pécs Gallery, Pécs, Hungary
1983: Studio '83, Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
1982: "Studio '82," Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
1978: Young Artists Club, Budapest, Hungary
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Szombathely Gallery, Szombathely, Hungary
Vak Bottyán Museum, Vác, Hungary
Kind Saint Stephen Museum, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
István Csók Gallery, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, Hungary
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Fine Art Collection of the Synagogue, Budapest, Hungary
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
