Zsuzsa Mathe

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Born on May 4, 1964, Budapest, Hungary, Zsuzsa Máthé was raised in a culture-rich civic environment, where playing the piano, speaking foreign languages was a natural must. By the age of 5 she spoke not only her mother tongue, Hungarian, but German and French as well. She exhibited a very early talent for drawing. During her years at primary school, she was admitted to private lessons on how to draw, and while attending one of the most prestigious secondary schools of Budapest, Radnóti Miklós Gimnázium, she started painting; and she painted in her small Terézváros room on the floor using oil, acril, paintbrush, spray-gun, fingers whatever available to create an original style yet to be defined.

It was at the early age of 18, in 1983, when her first own exhibit opened. Entitled The First Exhibit of Transrealism the show marked the beginning of a new era in the visual arts. Transrealism[1] is inspired by the great Hungarian poet Attila József who writes in his poem Welcome to Thomas Mann (1937)

"... You know this well: the poet never lies,
The real is not enough; through its disguise
Tell us the truth which fills the mind with light
Because, without each other, all is night. ...

As an avid supporter of pressing environmental issues and a foe of the socialist regime, she was one of the founders of Duna Kör, the public group that was a melting pot of intellectuals who's work eventually accumulated in the change of political system of Hungary in 1989. Although the suppressive political climate was almost prohibiting her public appearances, the following years each saw new paintings appearing in various local exhibition halls. Yet her entry was repeatedly denied to the ivory towers of the fine arts.

By the age of 21 she extensively visited most countries in Europe, from communist Russia to the UK where she obtained qualifications to be able to start up one of the first privately owned English language schools of Budapest. From this point on, she tried to support herself from the little money she earned by teaching English during daytime while painting over the nights.

The fall of the socialist regime however finds her in Israel at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design as one of the finest students ever walking the corridors, as one of her professors stated. Her art of this era is often characterized by biblical characters and themes.

Today Zsuzsa remains one of the most original painters of the late XX. century.

[edit] Art

Zsuzsa Mathe is one the most original modern painters of the New Wave internationally. Her arts had been exhibited in Budapest, Hungary and various galleries around Israel, but her works are respected from Sweden to New York City as well. The exceptional quality and impact of her communication grabs the attention of every generation.