Kassák twice

Lajos Kassák – Ambassador of the Avant-Garde, 1915-1927is the title of the display in the Berlinische Galerie, which presents an important, eventful period of 10 years in the life of Kassák. In 1915 he started his first journal, Tett (Deed), which was banned the following year, then he founded Ma (Today), also banned later but re-started in Vienna. During his Viennese years, Kassák continually extended his international network of artists through his contacts in Vienna, Paris and Berlin. Besides literary, artistic and theoretical works by Kassák and his contemporaries, the exhibition also visualises the geo-cultural contexts within which Kassák‘s activity unfolded.

Supplemented by selected works from the collection of the Berlinische Galerie and the Hungarian National Gallery, contemporary photos, documents and films present groups, centres, publications and famous artist personalities from that period, including Sándor Bortnyik, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Kurt Schwitters, Tristan Tzara and Herwarth Walden. For the first time, the exhibition will be showing works from a private collection in Paris. The exhibition is open till 17 October.

Manifest: KassÁk! in the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin adopts a much more modern tone. This exhibition is different both in approach and in theme: it reflects on Kassák’s complete oeuvre and on his versatile and creative character. He is presented as an idealist who was constantly searching for the future new directions in the field of theatre, literature and painting, but who, being an editor and graphic designer as well, was not afraid of the present everyday life either and was able to regard his own art as mere applied science when it was necessary.

The multimedia installation was created by the Memetics Group, which is the representing department in Berlin of Ars Electronica in Linz. The school focuses on the tension and interplay at the nexus of art, technology and society, and their mission is to formulate and implement the future manifestations of this interaction. With Manifest: KassÁk! they have created a truly unique installation both in terms of content and design. The exhibition is open to visitors till 25 September.