Brotherly Talent – The Visual Art of László Nagy and Béla Kondor

The exhibition explores the intertwined artistic paths of László Nagy (1925–1978) and Béla Kondor (1931–1972) — two major cultural figures of the 1960s and 70s. While Nagy is widely known as a poet and Kondor as a painter and graphic artist, both left behind rich visual and literary legacies. Their close friendship and artistic dialogue are at the heart of the exhibition, which highlights how their works reflect, interpret, and respond to one another.

Rather than focusing on their poetry, the exhibition centres on the intersections between image and text, particularly in their illustrative works. It explores how Kondor and Nagy translated poems into images — and vice versa — through drawings, visual poems, and book illustrations.

Key highlights include:

• Rare copies of Nagy’s sketchbooks, preserved at MNMKK PIM, with drawings made for his Facing the Sea (1966), volumes by Margit Szécsi, and translations of Dylan Thomas.
• Kondor’s illustrations for Facing the Sea (1966), and Nagy’s visual contributions to the 1972 edition of Dylan Thomas's collected poems.
• The long-unseen Jeanne d’Arc (1964) painting by Kondor, exhibited for the first time in over two decades.

Curator: Mária Madár
Exhibition design: Gyula Kemény
Graphic design & typography: András Széki
Commemorative year identity: Andrea Csuport
Lenders: Antal–Lusztig Collection (Debrecen), Kiscelli Museum – Municipal Gallery, MNMKK – PIM, heirs of László Nagy, Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery
Image credits: LDM, MNMKK PIM, Zsolt Birtalan, Csaba Gál