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István Nádler
Orodzony/a 29 Listopad 1938, VisegradLived in Budapest
István Nádler is a member of the legendary Iparterv and Budapesti Műhely groups and one of the most important representatives of the Hungarian neo-avant-garde movement and hard-edge painting. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. After he graduated, he was granted a scholarship which made it possible for him to live and exhibit abroad and participate in a number of artistic workshops. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and a winner of numerous awards. He worked as a visiting professor at the University of California. In 2006, he was involved in the establishment of the Open Structures Art Society.
1954
Studied at School of Arts and Crafts Budapest
1958
From 1958 to 1963, István Nádler studied at the Magyar Képzőművészeti Főiskola/ Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, under the leadership of professor Gyula Hincz (1904-1986). From the beginning of his studies, he was involved in the activity of a free group of young Hungarian artists Zugloi Kör (Zuglo Circle, until 1968). Sándor Molnár (1936), Pál Deim (1932), and István Nádler (1938) were the leaders of the movement which declaratively followed the tradition of the French lyrical abstraction and the modernist icons such as Kandinsky (1866-1944), Klee (1879-1940), and Malevich (1879-1935). It was also inspired by the work of Jean Bazaine (1904-2001). The group formed in 1968 and they jointly exhibited in 1966 (Új törekvések 1966: Fiatal festők bemutatója./ New Aspirations 1966: Presentation of Young Artists, Malév KISZ-Klub, Ferihegy) and retrospectively in No. 5. Galéria in Budapest in 1993.
After he graduated, Nádler accepted an offer from the Károlyi József Alapítvány/ Károly Foundation and took a study trip across Europe (1964). In the late 1960's, he became an active member of two most important Hungarian neo-avant-garde groups of the time: Budapesti műhely/ Budapest Workshop and the Iparterv movement.
In the early 1960's, Nádler presented himself through markedly expressive informal paintings with typical calligraphic aspects (Gesztus/ Gesture, 1960). He followed the Hungarian constructivist tradition and inclined to the geometrization of the painting space. However, he was also interested in the influence of pure coloured areas. He chose individual shades intuitively and often put them in great contrasts which were, in the given combinations, strongly reminiscent of the colourfulness of Hungarian folklore. Thus, the traditional and the innovative, the local and the interregional met in the area of the canvas (Hatásos sárga/ Active Yellow, 1968).
Studied at Hungarian University of Fine Arts
1964
Received grant from the Joseph Károlyi Foundation
1969
Iparterv II. (group exhibition, Budapest)
1970
In 1970, he had a residential stay in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, at the expense of the Károly Foundation again. Two years later, he received a scholarship from the Folkwang Museum in Essen, which exhibited his contemporary works in 1974.
Particularly in the early 1970's, Nádler's paintings were significantly reduced in terms of shapes and colours. In the previous period, he had also used polygonal lines and curves to divide the area of the painting. Now he only used straight lines. The shades of grey and beige dominated the colour tones. His style was comparable to minimalism. However, in his studies dealing with the relationship between illusion and reality he did not use sculptural modelling or three-dimensional space, but – as a painter – an areal construction through which he also reflected spatial objects. Such method allowed him to be on the edge of fiction
[György Jovánovics and István Nádler] (solo exhibition, Budapest)
1971
Received grant from Museum Folkwang
1973
In 1973, with János Fajó (1937), Ilona Keserü (1933), Sándor Molnár (1936), and Imre Bak (1939), he established the Budapesti műhely (Budapest Workshop).
1974
Istvan Nadler. Diagonalen. Gouachen (solo exhibition, Essen)
1975
In 1978, Nádler took a study tour across Germany and Holland, and intensively participated in the operation of the Budapest Workshop. Spatial objects started to appear in his work. However, he preferred to use them for their materiality and their surface qualities (Cím nélkül/ Untitled, 1977). At the same time, they played the role of iconographic elements
1977
1978
Nadler Istvan festdmavosz kiallitasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
1980
The turn of the 1970's and 1980's witnessed a rather significant emphasis on authorship, the artist's self. Such inclination to expression was in accordance with the gradual refinement of Nádler's approach, his interest in the relationship between colour and line resulting in an almost lyrical harmony of the two components. The spontaneity and ease of the brushwork which was demonstrated in the renewed reflection of calligraphic motifs was, in his case, purposefully connected with the purism and minimalism of means. Music, background music, and themes played an important role in such development: Nádler's drawings in particular, were inspired by the compositions of Steve Reich (1936), László Vidovszky (1944), Péter Eötvöse (1944), and László Sáry (1940). The motif of temporality first appeared in his work
1981
Nadler Istvan kiallitasa (solo exhibition, Székesfehérvár)
Nadler Istvan kiallitasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
Nadler Istvan kiallitasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
1982
Received award from International Festival of Painting Cagnes-sur-Mer
14th International Festival of Painting Cagnes-sur-Mer (group exhibition, Cagnes-sur-Mer)
1985
In the second half of the 1980's, István Nádler returned to colour. He used it in consideration of expression and subjectivity, which was more strongly emphasized by postmodernism, and also of the newly proclaimed eclecticism. Nádler created his own sign structure, painted symbols, by the use of which he transcribed quotations from the history of art
Received award from European Biennial of Graphic Arts Baden-Baden
Nadler Istvan gyajtemenyes kiallItasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
4th Biennial of European Graphic Arts Baden-Baden (group exhibition, Baden-Baden)
4th Biennial of European Graphic Arts Baden-Baden (group exhibition, Baden-Baden)
1986
Received award from The Munkácsy Mihály Prize
XLII. Biennale di Venezia, Ungheria: Bak Birkás, Nádler, Kelemen (group exhibition, Wenecja)
1990
Istvan Nádler— lmmer und wieder — Mindig és újra 1984-1990 (solo exhibition, Graz)
Imre Bak / István Nádler (group exhibition, )
Imre Bak / István Nádler (group exhibition, )
1992
Received grant from Hungarian Academy in Rome
Nadler Istvan kiallitasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
1993
Received grant from The Villa Romana Prize
Roma — Nádler Istvan kiallftasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
1994
Europe, Europe. The Century of the Avant-garde in Central and Eastern Europe (group exhibition, Bonn)
1995
In the second half of the 1990's, István Nádler resumed his travels. In 1995, he visited Rome and Florence, and Lisbon a year later. His stay in a different geographic zone with different light conditions resulted in the enrichment of his more geometrized canvases in terms of colours and shapes (Firenze/ Florence, 1995
1998
Istvan Nádler (solo exhibition, Kaunas)
1999
Worked at University of California
2000
After he won the Munkácsy Prize (1986), Nádler was awarded the highest state award, the Kossuth Prize, in 2001. Four years later, he was elected a member of the Széchenyi Irodalmi és Művészeti Akadémia/ Szechenyi Academy of Literature and Arts. He spent the year 2003 in Switzerland on a scholarship and then he lived in Berlin in 2004. He was involved in the establishment of the Open Structures Art Society (2006).
After 2009, Nádler's gestures became more relaxed. The impressiveness of his canvases resulted from the effective combination of black and bright colours. Nádler also used metallic shades, gold, silver, and copper in combination with delicate pastel shades. In 2011, his contemporary works (Feketebács series) were exhibited in the Vartók gallery in Budapest.
Nádler Istvan kiallitasa (solo exhibition, Budapest)
Istvan Nádler (solo exhibition, Saint-Tropez)
Art in Central Europe 1949–1999 (group exhibition, Barcelona)
Istvan Nádler (solo exhibition, Saint-Tropez)
Art in Central Europe 1949–1999 (group exhibition, Barcelona)
2001
Received award from Kossuth Prize
Nádler Istvan (solo exhibition, Budapest)
Idohid / Zeitbrücke. Ungarische Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts aus der Sammlung der Gemäldegalerie Budapest (group exhibition, Passau)
Idohid / Zeitbrücke. Ungarische Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts aus der Sammlung der Gemäldegalerie Budapest (group exhibition, Passau)
2002
[István Nádler] (solo exhibition, Budapest)
2003
Received grant from Landis & Gyr Foundation
2004
Received grant from DAAD – German Academic Exchange Services
Hommage a Ligeti György 80 (solo exhibition, Budapest)
[István Nádler] (solo exhibition, Budapest)
[István Nádler] (solo exhibition, Budapest)
[István Nádler] (solo exhibition, Budapest)
[István Nádler] (solo exhibition, Budapest)
2005
Was member of Szechenyi Academy of Literature and Arts
2006
Was member of Open Structures Art Society
Új képek (solo exhibition, Budapest)
Akadémiai székfoglaló kiállítás: Esterhazy-portrék (solo exhibition, Budapest)
Akadémiai székfoglaló kiállítás: Esterhazy-portrék (solo exhibition, Budapest)
2007
Nádler István (solo exhibition, Budapest)
Nádler István „Nem is a főld miatt, nem is az ég miatt" (solo exhibition, Budapest)
White & Black (group exhibition, Budapest)
Nádler István „Nem is a főld miatt, nem is az ég miatt" (solo exhibition, Budapest)
White & Black (group exhibition, Budapest)
2008
Nádler István. Új munkák (solo exhibition, Fellbach )
2010
Olomouc Central European Forum III. Hungary | Hungarian Art from the Collections of the Olomouc Museum of Art (group exhibition, Olomouc)
2011
Transparency – Looking Through (group exhibition, Budapest)
ORNAMENT – SERIALITY. Historical and contemporary art (group exhibition, Budapest)
ORNAMENT – SERIALITY. Historical and contemporary art (group exhibition, Budapest)
2012
Chance as Strategy (group exhibition, Budapest)
From Tizian to Warhol / Olomouc Museum of Art 1951-2011 (group exhibition, Olomouc)
The Other Half of the Sky. Selection From the Ludwig Museum's Collection (group exhibition, Budapest)
From Tizian to Warhol / Olomouc Museum of Art 1951-2011 (group exhibition, Olomouc)
The Other Half of the Sky. Selection From the Ludwig Museum's Collection (group exhibition, Budapest)
2013
2014
István Nádler (solo exhibition, Paris)
LUDWIG 25. The Contemporary Collection (group exhibition, Budapest)
LUDWIG 25. The Contemporary Collection (group exhibition, Budapest)
2017
Crossing Borders (The Grüner Collection) (group exhibition, Bratislava)