His pastoral art forms a bridge between the past and the present: an exhibition of his woodcarver’s oeuvre

The Palóc Museum Gallery was full to capacity on Thursday afternoon at the opening of the exhibition of István Egri’s oeuvre. First, Dr. Dr. Limbacher Ágnes Lengyel, head of the Palóc Museum, greeted those present, especially the artist and his colleagues, János Sasvári and György Simon.

– On the occasion of a significant birthday, we organized an exhibition presenting the oeuvre of István Egri. The artist has always maintained a close relationship with the museum staff, often studying individual pieces of the collection. This attitude also shows that the basis of his work and creations is folk tradition and folk art, said the head of the institution.

Dr. Limbacher Ágnes Lengyel highlighted: István Egri’s works form a bridge between the pastoral art of the last century and the present. His wood-carved stories not only represent the survival of old traditions, but also their thoughtful, imaginative re-creation. The director also explained that most of the objects on display already enrich the collection of the Palóc Museum, so they are trying to ensure that the exhibition showing the essence of Palócs gets a permanent place in the museum.

The next speaker was Lajos Medvácz, president of the Palóc Museum Friends Association, who recommended the exhibition to the attention of those interested. – It is special that István Egri, from Földes in the Hajdú-Bihar county, preserves and cultivates at a master level a branch of Palóc traditions rich in works, openwork carving. In the course of his work as a telecommunications engineer, he ended up in Balassagyarmat, where he got married and here he committed himself to Palóc folk art, wood carving. According to Lajos Medvácz, the total area of ​​his works created over the past 6 decades – as evidenced by the plans drawn on paper – is about 70 square meters.

The president of the association also mentioned the artist’s works found abroad and in Balassagyarmat, including the headstones of 100 Hungarian soldiers who died a heroic death in Nyergestető, Transylvania, the headstones of Hungarian railwaymen who died in the war in Isonzo, Italy, and the furniture of the Mátyás Pince palóc room in Vienna. There are many of his works in and around Balassagyarmat, for example: welcome gate, roadside crucifix in the MNM Palóc Museum’s open-air exhibition, Heroes’ Gate (cemetery), Reformed anniversary memorial column (Reformed church), railwaymen’s headstone (next to the railway station, traffic office), Palóc grove 1956- os memorial column, bronze relief of Csehkiverés.

At the opening, ethnographer Norbert Paluch, one of the curators of the exhibition, introduced the visitors to the details of the exhibition, where some motifs are enlarged and brought to life in Zsolt Szugyiczki’s photos. After the opening, the 80-year-old István Egri was greeted with a champagne toast among his family and friends. Contributed by: Luca Paluch and Csenge Paluch.