Judit Varga
Keramikus művész / Ceramic artist
Biography
Judit Varga is a Hungarian ceramic artist who lives and works in the USA. She is a professorial lecturer of ceramics and also works full time in her studio for exhibitions and for commissions. Her work is held in collections nationally and internationally. Among the many are KOCEF Collection at Icheon World Ceramic Center, Icheon, South Korea ; Shangyu Modern Ceramic Museum, Shangyu, China; Ceramic Collection, School of Art, Aberystwyth University, Wales, England; International Ceramic Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary; San Angelo Museum of Art, San Angelo, TX and numerous private collections in the USA and Europe.
Artist’s statement:I am fascinated by the beauty in the transient nature of living things. I use the visual metaphor of blooming or dying flowers to emphasize the impermanence in life. I am captivated by the balance and harmony in mortality: how loss of strength softens the edges, fading colors enhance fine details of imperfection. I emphasize the drama and struggle between form, surface, colors, texture, and how the passing time influences all of these to stress our daily struggles in life, in our existence in such a troubled times which seems to affect all of us. Nature always yearns for harmony and thrives on balance but feeds on energy which needs dissonance and conflicts. A blooming flower represents HOPE, embodies FUTURE, while it encapsulates the elusiveness of TIME. With my fragile porcelain flowers, I celebrate LIFE: a hope for rebirth through the life of the next generation.
Education:
Ceramics and Environmental Culture, MFA - Moholy Nagy University of Arts and Design, Budapest Hungary Art and Mathematics, BA - Berzsenyi Daniel Teacher College, Szombathely, Hungary
Symposiums:
2019 Invited Artist-in Resident at St. Quentin la Poterie, France 2017 Invited Artist-in Resident at Shangyu International Celadon Center, Shangyu, China 2004, 2005 and 2006 International Ceramic Studio, Siklos, Hungary 2001 International Ceramic Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary
Artist’s statement:I am fascinated by the beauty in the transient nature of living things. I use the visual metaphor of blooming or dying flowers to emphasize the impermanence in life. I am captivated by the balance and harmony in mortality: how loss of strength softens the edges, fading colors enhance fine details of imperfection. I emphasize the drama and struggle between form, surface, colors, texture, and how the passing time influences all of these to stress our daily struggles in life, in our existence in such a troubled times which seems to affect all of us. Nature always yearns for harmony and thrives on balance but feeds on energy which needs dissonance and conflicts. A blooming flower represents HOPE, embodies FUTURE, while it encapsulates the elusiveness of TIME. With my fragile porcelain flowers, I celebrate LIFE: a hope for rebirth through the life of the next generation.
Education:
Symposiums:
Prizes
Exhibitions
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS2020 Clay with a capital C, Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur, Tegelen, Netherland 2020 Suspended, NCECA, Richmond, VA, USA 2020 Borders, Hungarian Cultural Institute, Helsinki, Finnland 2020 On the edge, IAC Thematic exhibition, Posito, Finnland 2020 Lecture at Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur Tegelen, Netherland 2019 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Galerie Terra Viva – St. Quentin la Poterie, France 2018 Nature – Blue Spiral Galerie – Ashville, North Carolina 2018 Invitational, Abel Contemporay Gallery, W 2017 Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, Korea – Honorable Mentioned 2017 Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA – Juror Award 2016 Philadelphia Museum of Art Show – Korman Price for Excellence in Clay 2016 National Building Museum, Smithsonian Art Show, Washington, DC 2015 Galerie Terra Viva, St. Quentin la Potterie, France ( 3 person show) 2014 Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, IN – Museum Purchase 2013 SOFA Chicago, Maria Elena Krawetz Gallery, Cordoba, Argentina 2013 America Craft Council Show, Baltimore, MD 2012 San Angelo Museum of Art– Museum Purchase. Juror: Garth Clark 2012 Invited artist by the ACC American Craft Council Show, Baltimore, MD, US 2011 Washington Craft Show, Washington DC, US - Awarded 2011 Gallery 555, Washington, DC (3 person show) 2011 Hickok Cole Architecture, Washington, DC, US – Purchase Award 2010 Philadelphia Museum of Arts, Philadelphia, PA, US 2010 Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD, US 2009 Solo Exhibition - Hillyer Art Space, Washington DC, US 2009 Waverly Street Gallery, Bethesda, MD, US 2009 American Ceramics - Llantarnham Grange, Wales, England - collection purchase 2008 Art Exchange - Cwmbran, Wales, England 2008 Art + Space, Herman Miller Design, Washington, DC, US 2008 Feast of Clay XXI, Lincoln, CA, US 2008 Solo Show, Ceramic Abstraction's winner exhibition, Creative Arts, New Haven, CT, US 2008 Material Translations, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, NCECA 2008, Pittsburgh, PA, US 2008 Myth of Permanence, Standard Ceramics, NCECA, Pittsburgh, PA , US 2007 Solo Exhibition- McLean Project for the Arts, McLean, VA, US 2007 Cross McKenzie Gallery, Washington, DC (3 person show) US 2007 Creative Arts Workshops, New Haven, CT (Curated by Paula Winokur; First prize), US 2007 Glenview Manson Gallery, Rockville, MD (3 person show),US 2007 Project4 Gallery, Washington, DC, US 2006 Solo Exhibition - Pince Gallery, Szombathely, Hungary 2006 Mud, Sand and Straw - Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC, US
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE/ LECTURES/ WORKSHOPS2020 Lecture at Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur Tegelen, Netherlands 2010- 2019 Professorial Lecturer of Ceramics at George Washington University, Washington, DC 2012- 2014 Adjunct Professor of Ceramics at the Corcoran College of Art, Washington, DC 2016 Distinguished Artists named by the Renwick Alliance, Washington, DC 2016 Lecture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE/ LECTURES/ WORKSHOPS
WORK IN PERMANENT COLLECTIONS