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Hoka-Néni: Seven Paintings by Valentin Lustig

September 13, 2003 - November 9, 2003

August 15, 2003, Pittsburgh, PA — On September 13, 2003, The Frick Art Museum presents a new series of paintings by Romanian-born contemporary Swiss artist Valentin Lustig. Hoka-Néni: Seven Paintings by Valentin Lustig features seven richly detailed canvases that depict scenes from the life of Lustig’s Hoka-Néni (“Auntie Hoka” in Hungarian), who, along with her four children, were victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Hoka-Néni is organized by the Frick Art & Historical Center and curated by Dr. Edith Balas, Professor of Art History at Carnegie Mellon University and Research Associate at the University of Pittsburgh. The exhibition is on view through November 9, 2003 in The Frick Art Museum rotunda.

Valentin Lustig was born in Romania in 1955. He emigrated with his family to Israel, where he completed high school, and now lives in Switzerland. In addition to two previous exhibitions of his work in Pittsburgh, Lustig has had six solo exhibitions in Zürich and has participated in several group exhibitions in Germany. Although Lustig’s work deals with the themes of the Holocaust and the fate of the Jewish people, his paintings are never explicit in their references to the Holocaust. Rather, they are highly personal paintings which represent symbolically Lustig’s response to the life and times of his aunt.

Lustig’s most ambitious work to date is a suite of seven paintings created in 2001-2002, fully titled Hoka-Néni: Being the History of The Life and Deeds of The Incomparable Aunty Hoka, Truthfully Depicted in Seven Parts by Her Nephew Valentin Lustig, Painter in Zürich. The panels—which begin with The Newborn Hoka-Néni, Keenly Observed by Her Ancestors and conclude with Hoka-Néni’s Unexpected Comeback—are designed to be read as a continuous symbolic narrative, similar to the great cycles of early Renaissance art. At first glance, Hoka-Néni may also remind viewers of the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. The delightful variety of shapes and colors make the images immediately appealing and create an evocative effect.

While Hoka-Néni can be appreciated as an imaginative, fantastic organism, exhibition curator Dr. Edith Balas writes that, as in all of Lustig’s work, there is more than meets the eye. “Although Hoka-Néni is the protagonist of the series,” she says, “most of the scenes are autobiographical. Lustig assumes the guise of Hoka-Néni in order to present his own views on the condition of the modern world.”

Dr. Edith Balas, guest curator of the present exhibition, is Professor of Art History at Carnegie Mellon University and Research Associate at the University of Pittsburgh. She previously curated exhibitions of Mr. Lustig’s work for Carnegie Mellon University’s Hewlett Gallery and for the University of Pittsburgh’s Frick Fine Arts Gallery. Dr. Balas is the author of several books, including: Brancusi and Rumanian Folk Traditions, East European Monographs (Columbia University Press, 1987); The Iconography of Michelangelo’s Medici Chapel: A New Hypothesis (American Philosophical Society, 1995); Joseph Csáky: A Pioneer of Cubism (American Philosophical Society, 1998); The Holocaust in the Painting of Valentin Lustig (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2001); and The Mother Goddess in Italian Renaissance Art (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2002). Born in Romania, Dr. Balas is a survivor of the Holocaust who emigrated with her family to the United States in 1967.

In conjunction with Hoka-Néni: Seven Paintings by Valentin Lustig, the Frick Art & Historical Center has published a fully-illustrated color catalogue, featuring an essay by Dr. Balas. The catalogue will be available for $16 at the Frick’s Museum Shop. Following its showing at The Frick Art Museum, Hoka-Néni: Seven Paintings by Valentin Lustig will be exhibited in Budapest at Dorottya Galeria (Ernst Museum) in early spring, 2004.

The Frick Art Museum
Part of the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh, The Frick Art Museum contains the fine and decorative art collection of Helen Clay Frick, daughter of Henry Clay Frick. In addition to exhibiting its permanent collection, which concentrates on Italian Renaissance and French eighteenth-century works, the Museum has an active program of temporary exhibitions. Admission to The Frick Art Museum is free.

Frick Art & Historical Center
The Frick Art & Historical Center is located at 7227 Reynolds Street in Point Breeze. Free parking is available in the Frick’s off-street lot, or along adjacent neighborhood streets. Hours of operation: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sunday 12:00 – 6:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays.

For information and reservations, please call 412-371-0600, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday.

For further information or images, please contact Greg Langel at the Frick Art & Historical Center at 412-371-0600, ext. 524, or info@frickart.org.

Click here for more information about special events and programs offered in conjunction with Hoka-Néni: Seven Paintings by Valentin Lustig.

<i>Hoka-Néni Discovers the Moon</i>, 2001-2002. Oil tempera on canvas, 40 x 31 1/2 in. Collection of the Artist.

<i>The Newborn Hoka-Néni, Keenly Observed by Her Ancestors</i>, 2001-2002. Oil tempera on canvas, 47 1/4 x 40 in. Collection of the Artist.

<i>The Temptation of Hoka-Néni</i>, 2001-2002. Oil tempera on canvas, 47 1/4 x 63 in. Collection of the Artist.

<i>Vision of Hoka-Néni's Monument during a Market Day in Helvetia Square in Zürich</i>, 2001-2002. Oil tempera on canvas, 40 x 31 1/2 in. Collection of the Artist.