The Artists

Sándor Móga was born in Budapest in 1927. Between 1947 and 1948, he studied at the College of Applied Arts, where he was a student of Lajos Pál, Miklós Borsos and Pál Miháltz in the silversmithing department. Alongside his formal training, his enduring interest in sculpture developed in parallel with his commitment to the silversmith’s craft.

His earliest works, already presented in exhibitions, were sculptures executed in bronze, lead and stone. Móga made his national exhibition debut in 1957 at the 3rd National Exhibition in Miskolc, followed by his participation in the 9th Hungarian Fine Arts Exhibition in 1962.

His oeuvre was later presented to the public in a broader scope through solo exhibitions held in Budapest in 1970 and 1983. His work was most recently exhibited internationally in 2022 within the framework of the Salon International d’Art Contemporain in Paris.

“Sándor Móga began his career as a sculptor, demonstrating remarkable talent already in his early works, which were successfully presented in numerous exhibitions. He achieved significant results in exploring the expressive possibilities of materials; the harmonious integration of white and non-ferrous metals is particularly noteworthy, and remains almost unparalleled. His artistic ambitions placed him in a felicitous inner parallel with the most valuable currents of modern art. Material and technique are subordinated to human vision and thereby acquire human value, imbued with gesture and presence. In this fullness, his art is revealed. Sándor Móga is among those applied artists who set exceptionally high standards for themselves.”

— János Gróh, painter, Professor at the Budapest University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Drawing

“His works push the boundaries of the silversmith’s craft toward the realm of sculpture, at times deliberately transgressing the conventional limits of genre.”

— Gyula Kovács, art historian (Művészet, No. 12, 1970)

Sources:

— Ákos Koczogh: Fémművesség (Budapest, 1977), ISBN 963 336 073 0

— The Oeuvre of Sándor Móga (Budapest, 2022), ISBN 978-615-01-6869-2

— Ágnes Bakonyvári M: Kortárs ötvösművészet (Budapest, 2001) ISBN 963 007 093 6

József Pölöskei was born in Budapest in 1936. He studied at the College of Applied Arts between 1962 and 1967 under the guidance of Sándor Sima. Following graduation, he remained committed to his original specialization, with forged iron and steel becoming the dominant materials throughout his artistic career.

From the outset, Pölöskei approached metal as a sculptural medium. In his early period, he experimented extensively with enamelled and vividly coloured metal forms, including garden figures and works incorporating metal prints. His practice was primarily based on hot-forged and cold-machined iron, while copper and other non-ferrous metals also appeared in selected works. Bronze played an important role in his oeuvre, and aluminum — used more sparingly — became significant in certain larger-scale compositions.

His artistic development was enriched by study trips to the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and India. Between 1969 and 1988, he worked as an assistant professor at the College of Applied Arts, contributing to the education of future generations of metal artists. His achievements were recognized with the Munkácsy Prize in 1979 and the General Award in 1980.

Pölöskei worked predominantly on commissioned projects within contractual frameworks, while also participating in public tenders and restoration works. His sculptural practice encompassed human and animal figures as well as sacred objects, including monstrances and altars. Among his monumental works, the bronze gate in Mohács and the assembled aluminum space sculptures realized in Delhi are of particular significance. In addition to metal, he occasionally employed glass, plexiglass, enamel and wood.

Active as a creative artist since 1967, Pölöskei participated continuously in national applied art exhibitions between 1967 and 1996. His work occupies a stable position within the tradition of modern Hungarian metal art, characterized by material discipline, structural clarity and sculptural intent.

Source:

— Ákos Koczogh: Fémművesség (Budapest, 1977), ISBN 963 336 073 0

— Ákos Koczogh: Mai kovácsművészek (Művészet 7/1997)

Margit Tevan was born in 1901 in Békéscsaba and belongs to the most significant figures of 20th-century Hungarian silversmithing. 

She began her formal studies in 1921 at the College of Applied Arts in the silversmithing department, later continuing her artistic education as a private student of Richard Zutt and Ferenc Kiss. This dual training — academic and private — laid the foundation for a highly individual artistic language rooted in both discipline and creative independence.

Her artistic achievements were widely recognized both nationally and internationally. She received awards at several international exhibitions and was honored with the Diploma of Recognition of the Capital City of Budapest. 

Among her most notable distinctions are the Diplôme d’Honneur awarded at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, the Silver Medal at the Milan Triennial in 1940, the Munkácsy Prize in 1957, and the title of Meritorious Artist in 1962. 

Throughout her career, her works were presented in numerous exhibitions in Hungary and the Czech Republic, affirming her sustained presence within the Central European artistic scene.

In her early works, Tevan approached metal with almost sculptural force, plastically shaping metal plates while consciously rejecting the ornamental excesses characteristic of much contemporary metalwork. Her artistic intent was guided by a pursuit of material beauty in its purest form, allowing structure and surface to emerge from the inherent qualities of the metal itself.

The decorative elements of her objects consist predominantly of relief-like figural motifs—human and animal forms—which she frequently applied as separately cast metal elements. These figures lend her works a distinctive, often bucolic character, marked by lyrical calm and measured expressiveness. 

The conceptual foundation of her figurative language was significantly influenced by the concise sculptural ideals of Romanticism, resulting in compositions that balance intimacy, clarity and formal restraint.

Margit Tevan’s oeuvre stands as a defining example of Hungarian modern silversmithing, where sculptural thinking, material sensitivity and artistic integrity converge into a coherent and enduring legacy.

Sources:

— Ákos Koczogh: Fémművesség (Budapest, 1977), ISBN 963 336 073 0

— Ákos Koczogh: Tevan Margit (Budapest, 1977), ISBN 963 336 094 3

László Szlávics (senior) was born in 1927 in Nagylengyel and occupies a singular position within post-war Hungarian sculpture and metal art. His artistic formation began early: from 1942 he worked as an apprentice in the workshop of sculptor Gyula Földessy in Győr. Between 1950 and 1955, he studied silversmith design at the College of Applied Arts under sculptor András Dózsa Farkas, remaining affiliated with the institution as a scholar until 1956. He regarded Miklós Borsos and Makrisz Agamemnon as decisive artistic influences.

From 1953 onward, Szlávics was a regular participant in national exhibitions and open competitions in Hungary. Throughout his career, he consciously worked independently of dominant artistic groupings, styles or institutional trends. His artistic aspirations were shaped by the material-oriented approach of Neo-Realism in the 1960s, combined with the compositional logic of Surrealism based on free image association.

A defining characteristic of his oeuvre is the use of found objects and industrial waste. Initially, these elements were transformed through traditional sculptural processes and cast in bronze; later, they increasingly appeared in their original form. This method places his work in close dialogue with the traditions of the historical avant-garde, while maintaining a distinctly personal, often surreal tone.

Although trained as a silversmith, Szlávics gradually distanced himself from classical applied art. During his college years, he became deeply engaged in figural plate sculpture, alongside stone sculpture and medal-making, where several mature early works emerged. By the early 1960s, he returned decisively to sculpture, focusing on non-figurative forms inspired by organic structures. As a pioneer, he was among the first Hungarian artists to employ aluminum as a sculptural material.

In 1965, he organized a highly successful exhibition of cast aluminum and bronze figurines at the Institute of Cultural Relations. The exhibition, regarded at the time as representing “imperialist art” rather than officially sanctioned socialist realism, stood in open confrontation with cultural policy and had a lasting impact on his artistic trajectory.

From the 1970s onward, Szlávics also pursued painting. His plaques and embossed plates can be seen as precursors to this shift, already revealing a painterly impulse. His paintings are characterized by a surreal atmosphere, vivid coloration and a persistent sculptural mode of thinking. During this period, he increasingly created assemblages and object collages, which became emblematic of his style.

His final major creative period in the 1980s marked a return to sculpture. He produced figurines and sculptures assembled by welding iron and incorporating found objects, sometimes enriched with painted surfaces. In several works, brittle iron is combined with stone and gravel, giving rise to imaginary, often bizarre creatures that encapsulate the experimental and uncompromising spirit of his oeuvre.

Source:

— Szlávics László, a művész mesterember (Budapest, 1998), ISBN 963 035 653 8