Christian Iconography Biennial Explores Death and Its Symbolism

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• 01Cifra Palace The 13th Contemporary Christian Iconography Biennial , organized around the themes of death, cemeteries, and tombs, will showcase 146 works and series by 147 artists.
• 02The exhibition opens on September 26 at the Cifra Palace exhibition space of the Katona József Museum in Kecskemét (central Hungary). 218 artists submitted their works in response to the call for entries, from which a five-member expert jury selected the pieces to be exhibited.
• 03László Gyergyádesz, a Móra Ferenc Prize-winning art historian and the biennial’s founding curator, emphasized that the theme chosen for the 13th edition was particularly relevant given both the current state of the world—pandemics, wars, and the climate crisis—and the extraordinarily rich symbolism surrounding death.
• 04At the opening ceremony, which begins at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, György Szemadám, a painter and recipient of the Mihály Munkácsy Award, will deliver a speech; in addition, the Grand Prize from the Ministry of Social Relations and Culture and the jury’s honorary awards will be presented.
• 05Related article 44th Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition Opens in Budapest The exhibition at the Robert Capa Center highlights the growing importance of reliable photographic documentation.
• 06In previous editions of the series, which began in 2002, artists explored specific iconographic themes—including the cross, Genesis, the altar, the parables of Christ, the Apocalypse, children, the seven deadly sins, and, most recently, prophecy.
• 07Including the current exhibition, a total of 1,734 works have been presented in Kecskemét over the course of these thirteen editions.