Dóra Keresztes
Encyclopedia
Dóra Keresztes
Hungarian painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, printmaker, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
and animated film director.
Biography
She graduated from the Hungarian University of Arts And DesignMoholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
The Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design , former Hungarian University of Arts and Design, is located in Budapest, Hungary. The university is committed to training traditional artist-craftsmen, as well as architects, designers and visual communication designers...
) in Budapest as pupil of István Balogh, György Haiman, János Kass
János Kass
János Kass was a Hungarian illustrator, printmaker, graphic designer, postage stamp designer, animated film director and teacher...
and Ernő Rubik
Erno Rubik
Ernő Rubik is a Hungarian inventor, architect and professor of architecture. He is best known for the invention of mechanical puzzles including Rubik's Cube , Rubik's Magic, Rubik's Magic: Master Edition, Rubik's Snake and Rubik's 360....
. She started her career with book designs and illustrations mainly for children and contemporary Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is literature written in the Hungarian language, predominantly by Hungarians.There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries...
. Later on the film and theater posters came to the center of her interest and she was art director and designer of the „Muses” Cultural Magazine in Budapest. Beside her design activity she is an independent fine artist, stage designer and director of animated films. Her works have been shown in exhibitions, biennials and film festivals both in Hungary and abroad. Vice president of the Society of Hungarian Illustrators, film director in PannóniaFilm
PannóniaFilm
Pannonia Film Studio is the largest animation studio in Hungary, based in the capital of Budapest.-History:...
Studio, co-founder of Hungarian Poster Society. She works as a free lance designer in her own design studio.
Her art
The origin of her linocuts were probably the woodcuts of the middle age, the world of "Biblia Pauperum
Biblia pauperum
The Biblia pauperum was a tradition of picture Bibles beginning in the later Middle Ages. They sought to portray the historical books of the Bible visually. Unlike a simple "illustrated Bible", where the pictures are subordinated to the text, these Bibles placed the illustration in the centre,...
" ("Paupers' Bible") which became so popular by the designers and fine artists of expressionist movement in the beginning of the 20 century too. Also her works were deeply influenced by the simplicity of East European folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
. She made study in Hungarian and Rumenian (Transilvanian) villages observing the decoration of small old churches. She does preach that traditional forms and handmade constructions could exist further and they can be part of the contemporary art and modern design as well. She likes to travel between the past and the present and in her pictures the world keeps her totality as it was in the time of the ancient mythologies and as it is in the tales and fables. We can observe her attraction towards the grotesque and surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
too. Especially in her colorful animated films we can feel the presence of the dreams, subconscious and imagination. In some of her design works – especially in the case of posters and logos appears the influence of the emblematic power of folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
what is mixed with the more rigorous geometrical approach. She likes using the different forms of symmetry
Symmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
too and she plays very often with the rhythm of positive and negative forms.
The world of Dora Keresztes is rather unusual in the digital field of the contemporary design life, but she says that the fundament of the future is in the past. She knows the responsibility of the designer for the local cultures, and she does work to keep them, she works for a healthy coexistence.
Exhibitions
- 1985 Budapest, Vigadó Gallery
- 2000 Szeged, Kass Gallery
- 2001 Teheran, Artist Gallery
- 2005 Budapest, Dorottya Gallery
- 2005 Budapest, Hungarian National Theatre
Animated films
- 1979 – Moon Film (Holdasfilm) (with István OroszIstván OroszIstván Orosz Hungarian painter, printmaker, graphic designer and animated film director, is known for his mathematically inspired works, impossible objects, optical illusions, double-meaning images and anamorphoses. The geometric art of István Orosz, with forced perspectives and optical...
) - 1985 – Magic (Garabonciák) (with István OroszIstván OroszIstván Orosz Hungarian painter, printmaker, graphic designer and animated film director, is known for his mathematically inspired works, impossible objects, optical illusions, double-meaning images and anamorphoses. The geometric art of István Orosz, with forced perspectives and optical...
) - 1989 – Golden Bird (Aranymadár)
- 1996 – Faces (Arcok)
- 2001 - Smiling Sad Willow Tree (Mosolygó szomorúfűz)
- 2002 - De profundis
- 2005 - One-Two-Three (Egyedem-begyedem)
Stage design
- 2003 - Sándor WeöresSándor WeöresSándor Weöres was a Hungarian poet and author.Born in Szombathely, Weöres was brought up in the nearby village of Csönge. His first poems appeared when he was nineteen, being published in the influential journal Nyugat through the acceptance of its editor, the poet Mihály Babits...
: The Shipman on the Moon (Holdbeli csónakos) (Hungarian National Theatre)
Awards
- 1977-2001 Main Prizes of the Beautiful Hungarian Book Competition (nine times)
- 1988 Award of the Biennial of Graphic Design, Brno
- 1994 The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Award
- 2000 Gold Medal of the Millennium Competition of Hungarian Art Academy
- 2001 The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Award