Endre Nemes

Paintings by Endre Nemes (1909–1985) In March Aeron Alfrey kindly sent me a link to a giant auction of Nemes's work. It took me a while to wrangle a post — I've featured 27 of the 407 lots. Endre Nemes Vardag under Trettioåriga kriget (Everyday Life during the Thirty Years' War) Oil and tempera on canvas 1977 Bio from wikipedia:Born Endre Nágel in Pécsvárad, Hungary, in 1909, he changed his name to Nemes in 1928. His family soon moved to the small town of Igló (then part of Austro-Hungarian monarchy, later Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia). He later lived in Vienna (1927) where he studied philosophy before returning to Slovakia, working as a journalist and publishing poetry. In 1930, he moved to Prague where he became a cartoonist. Whilst in Prague, he studied at the Prague Art Academy, where he met Peter Weiss and Bernard Reder and collaborated with Jakub Bauernfreund. Nemes held his first exhibition with Jakub Bauernfreund at the Dr. Feigl Gallery. As a Jew, he escaped from Czechoslovakia before World War II, was in Helsinki in 1938, traveled through Finland and Norway, and ended up in Sweden where he held his first solo exhibition in 1941 in Stockholm. Just prior to Weiss's March 1941 exhibition at Masshallen, Brunkebergsplate, Nemes had shown his work at the same venue. He became a Swedish citizen in 1948. From 1947 to 1955, he was director and innovator for Valand School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg. He also worked on sets and costumes for the opera house and the municipal theatre. His fanciful paintings often included harlequins and clocks. Nemes became known for several large public art works and was a pioneer in Sweden in the use of enamels in public art, designing the façade of the municipal administration building in Alafors and the Zodiak Clock in the center of Västertorp. Along with Max Walter Svanberg, C.O. Hultén, Adja Yunkers, and Carl O. Svensson, Nemes was a founder of the Minotaur group. In the end of the 1950s, he showed in Zurich and Freiburg, and there was a subsequent retrospective in Lund, Prague, and Salzburg. In 1965, he was awarded a Swedish State stipend and held a notable exhibition at the Drian Galleries in London. His work can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, Philadelphia Art Museum and Brooklyn Museum in the US, the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, and the Ferenc Martyn Museum in Pécs. In 1984, Nemes received an honorary doctorate from the University of Gothenburg. The same year the three large tapestries he designed for Första Sparbanken in Stockholm were completed at Jindřichův Hradec in Czechoslovakia under the direction of Josef Müller. Two more, for Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg, followed in 1985. Härryda Municipality in particular has a large collection of works by Nemes. About twenty of his drawings were reported stolen in December 2008 from Ystad Art Museum. However, a month later, the drawings were found in the museum basement. Nemes was a friend of the Estonian poet and publicist Ilmar Laaban. Nemes died on September 22, 1985 in Stockholm. Also see this timeline of his life and work. Endre Nemes Den stora pantomimen (The Great Pantomime) Oil and tempera on canvas 1943–44 Endre Nemes Den stora paraden (The Great Parade) Casein tempera on panel 1944Endre Nemes Inviter (Invitations) Acrylic and oil on canvas 1967Endre Nemes From Cuneiform to the Present Acrylic and oil on canvas 1970–71 Endre Nemes Förhörsrekvisita II (Interrogation Tool II) Acrylic and oil on canvas 1969–71 Endre Nemes Örat (The Ear) Acrylic and oil on canvas 1968–72 Endre Nemes I sfinxens tecken (Sign of the Sphinx) Oil and acrylic on canvas 1967Endre Nemes Akbrobat, oh II ! (Acrobat, oh II !) Oil and acrylic on canvas 1967Endre Nemes Fältherrens epitaf (The Commander's Epitaph) Oil and acrylic on canvas 1972–77 Endre Nemes Stickande ögon (Piercing Eyes) Oil, acrylic and tempera on canvas 1967–77 Endre Nemes Medeltida analogier (Medieval Analogies) Oil and acrylic on canvas 1970–75 Endre Nemes Målskyttarna (The Target-Shooters) Oil and acrylic on canvas 1967–71–76 Endre Nemes Fönster i tiden (Window of Time) Acrylic and tempera on canvas 1971–81 Endre Nemes Galileis ekvationer (Galileo's Equations) Oil and acrylic on canvas 1970–74 Endre Nemes Anatomistudier (Anatomy Studies) Oil and tempera on canvas 1978–79 Endre Nemes Komposition Oil and tempera on panel Not signed or datedEndre Nemes Métropolitaine Acrylic, tempera and oil on canvas 1970–83 Endre Nemes Figure Oil and acrylic on canvas 1983Endre Nemes Slussen (The Floodgate) Acrylic on canvas not datedEndre Nemes Mannen med symaskinen (The Man with the Sewing Machine) Oil and tempera on canvas 1983Endre Nemes De stora förebilderna (The Great Forerunners) Oil and tempera on canvas 1982 Endre Nemes Figur med skoblock (Figure with Shoe Tree) Oil on canvas 1982Endre Nemes Arkitekten (The Architect) Oil and tempera on canvas 1982Endre Nemes Den skräckslagna flykten (The Terrifying Escape) Oil and tempera on canvas 1983 Endre Nemes Skillingtryck (Broadsheet) Oil and tempera on canvas 1982–83 Endre Nemes Möte med barocken (Encounter with the Baroque) Oil, acrylic and tempera on canvas 1968–69 See all posts tagged "Sweden" on 50 Watts Previously: a post on Max Walter Svanberg for But Does it Float This post first appeared on December 1, 2014 on 50 Watts