1921 - 2001 Hungarian-born French lyrical abstract painter, member of the post-World War II Paris school, known as François Fiedler
Biography
At the age of five, Ferenc Fiedler already began painting on canvas with oil paints, creating a "mental studio", in which he lives and paints passionately for the rest of his life. In 1931, as a child prodigy, his works were exhibited among adult artists in the newly formed Benczúr Circle. In his teenage years, the Museum of Fine Arts purchased some of his paintings; 16 works bought by the Hungarian state are now part of the Hungarian National Gallery's collection.
In 1941, Fiedler began his studies at the Hungarian Royal Academy of Fine Arts in István Szőnyi's class, where he formed friendships with Lili Országh, Judit Reigl, and Simon Hantai. In 1948, his exhibition opened at the Hungarian Academy in Rome with Simon Hantai and from there he travelled straight to Paris on a scholarship, leaving both Hungary and figurative painting behind. In 1949, he participated in the fourth Le Salon des Réalités Nouvelles exhibition. In 1950, Joan Miró discovered him, accepted him as his friend, and dubbed him the "painter of lights." In 1951, the Galerie Maeght, the most progressive Parisian gallery of the time, featured the young Fiedler in a group exhibition introducing the upcoming young artists entitled ”Kandinszky et Giacometti”. From then on Fiedler had exhibitions with major masters of the 20th century contemporary art, such as Braque, Chagall, Calder, Giacometti, Kandinsky, Leger, Miró, Matisse, Picasso, and Riopelle.
Fiedler's work was regularly featured in the Galerie Maeght's exclusive art periodical Derrière Le Miroir, which also dedicated four separate issues to his art.
From 1960, the French state began acquiring his paintings. In 1965, he represented France at the Alexandria Biennale.
His significance in international art is highlighted by his solo inclusion in the 2012 exhibition in New York, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the American abstract expressionist painter, Jackson Pollock's birthday featuring 13 works of art, where he was the only European and Hungarian artist featured.
In 2014, Fiedler was featured in two Hungarian and three significant international exhibitions simultaneously. In Budapest, he had solo exhibitions at the French Institute and the Hungarian National Gallery with friends Simon Hantai, Joan Miró, Lili Országh, and Judit Reigl. The other three exhibitions, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Fondation Maeght on the French Riviera, included paintings, graphics, and ceramics, where he once again exhibited alongside friends Joan Miró, Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, and Alberto Giacometti just like in the opening exhibition in 1964.
Throughout his career, Fiedler had numerous solo and group exhibitions in various European cities and in the United States. His works can be found worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Pollock-Krasner House in New York, the Pompidou Center and the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, the Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire in Lausanne and the Cabinet Cantonale des Estampes in Vevey, the National Library in Canberra, Australia and the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest.
2025
Voyage en collections #6 – Group Exhibition, Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image imprimée, La Louvière, Belgium
Ferenc Fiedler: Prints and Paintings – Solo Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
Voyage en collections #5 – Group Exhibition, Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image imprimée, La Louvière, Belgium
2024
Colligere: To select and juxtapose - Group exhibition, Tér-kép Gallery Budapest, Hungary
2023
Judit Reigl 100 | Judit Reigl and the Second School of Paris – Group Exhibition, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
The Fondation Maeght Thinks Big! – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
2021
Monochrome Stories – Group Exhibition, Centrul de Interes, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
I Whisper to My Past, Do I Have Another Choice? – Group Exhibition, Einspach Fine Art & Photography, Budapest, Hungary
Calder, Soulages, Vasarely... Plural Abstractions (1950-1980) – Collection of the Fondation Gandur pour l'Art – Group Exhibition, Musée de Pully, Pully, France
Fiedler 100 – Solo Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
2020
Blue - Color of Infinity – Group Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
2019
Ferenc Fiedler: Image Praxes 2 – Solo Exhibition, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
Image Praxes 2 – Group Exhibition, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
Ferenc Fiedler: Materials (Matières) – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
2018
The Spirit of a Collection: Donations – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
Works by Hungarian Emigré Artists on '56 – Group Exhibition, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
...on Paper 2 (...na papieri 2) – Group Exhibition, Galéria 19, Bratislava, Slovakia
2017
Returned Artworks – Solo Exhibition, Ferenczy Museum, Szentendre, Hungary
Intuition – Group Exhibition, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
2016
Codes/Signals/Images – The Secret Art of the 1956 Revolution – Group Exhibition, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary
Ferenc Fiedler – Solo Exhibition, Kunkelemen Fine Arts Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
2014
Limited Editions (Editions Limitées) – Group Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
Ferenc Fiedler – Solo Exhibition, French Institute, Budapest, Hungary
The Hungarian Paris – Group Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
Dada and Surrealism: Selected Works from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem – Group Exhibition, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Face à l'œuvre – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
2013
Ferenc Fiedler: Works 1945-1965 – Solo Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
The Great Masters and the Print – Group Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
2012
Fiedler & Hargittai – Group Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
The Persistence of Pollock – Group Exhibition, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, East Hampton, NY, USA
Hantai - Reigl - Fiedler – Group Exhibition, Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
2009
Ferenc FIEDLER - Retrospective – Solo Exhibition, Bumbum, Budapest, Hungary
Ferenc FIEDLER - Retrospective – Solo Exhibition, Opera Gallery, New York City, NY, USA
2006
Black is a Color (Le noir est une couleur) – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
2005
Enigmatic? Informel Prints Yesterday and Today - Hartmann Collection – Group Exhibition, Kunstverein Speyer, Speyer, Germany
Ferenc Fiedler – Solo Exhibition, Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland
2004
From Writing to Painting – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
Ferenc FIEDLER - Retrospective – Solo Exhibition, Hungarian Institute, Paris, France
The Color of Music – Group Exhibition, Bleu Acier, Tampa, FL, USA
2003
Enigmatic? - Terra Magica - Informel Prints Yesterday and Today - Hartmann Collection – Group Exhibition, Galerie mesta Plzne, Pilsen, Czech Republic
2001
Prints from France after '45 – Group Exhibition, Museum Moderner Kunst - Stiftung Wörlen, Passau, Germany
2000
Ferenc Fiedler Retrospective – Solo Exhibition, Chateau des Bouillants, Paris, France
1997
Ferenc FIEDLER - Divertimento – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1995
Fiedler – Solo Exhibition, Galería Maeght, Barcelona, Spain
Ferenc FIEDLER - To Each Their Own Mountain – Solo Exhibition, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Chambéry, Chambéry, France
Ferenc Fiedler: Books with Etchings – Solo Exhibition, Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
1990
Ferenc Fiedler Retrospective – Solo Exhibition, Pelaires Contemporary Cultural Center, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Ferenc FIEDLER - Recent Paintings and Prints – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1989
Ferenc FIEDLER - Paintings 1965-1975 – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
Paintings 1955-65 – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1983
Fiedler – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1982
The Universe of Aimé and Marguerite Maeght – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
1974
Ferenc FIEDLER - Prints – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
10th Anniversary of the Fondation Maeght – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
1969
8th Biennial of Graphic Arts – Biennial, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Painters, Illustrators, Modern Illustrated Books since Manet – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
1968
Ferenc Fiedler – Solo Exhibition, Galerie M Beck, Homburg/Saar, Germany
Salon de Mai – Group Exhibition, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France
1967
Ferenc FIEDLER - Paintings 1966-1967 – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
10 Years of Living Art 1955-65 – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
1966
Ten Years of Living Art 1945-1955 – Group Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
1964
Inauguration – Solo Exhibition, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France
1961
Ferenc FIEDLER - Paintings – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1960
Poets, Paintings, Sculptors – Group Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1959
Maeght Publisher 1960 – Group Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
Fiedler - 1st Solo "Derrière Le Miroir" Issue – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France
1955
Paintings – Solo Exhibition, Galerie du Haut-Pavé, Paris, France
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
FR (France)
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Centre Pompidou, Paris
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Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul
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National Center for Visual Arts (CNAP), Paris
US (United States)
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Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, NY
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Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, East Hampton, NY
HU (Hungary)
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Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
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Ferenczy Museum, Szentendre
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Fiedler Foundation, Budapest
CH (Switzerland)
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Musée Jenisch, Vevey
BE (Belgium)
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Centre de la Gravure et de l'Image imprimée, La Louvière
