2nd Floor - 21 March – 27 July 2025
The exhibition Habitat seeks to provide an overview of visual approaches and attitudes to nature in art from the second half of the nineteenth century up to now, through paintings, graphic art and photo series, sculptures, photo documentations and videos. By placing the issues of the ecological crisis within a broader context, it explores how the relationship between nature and culture can be redefined, considering the complex relations between approaches taken to nature and the landscape in previous centuries, contemporary ecological thinking, and the interplay between nature and urban culture.
The sensitive connection between art and the natural environment – which provides living space for all species, including humans – is already indicated by the title of the exhibition itself. Climate change, the excessive use of natural resources and the bourgeoning threat of the ecological crisis have increasingly come to the fore of the international and domestic discourses on art in the last ten years. The greatest challenge of the twenty-first century is to reduce the severe environmental impact of our agricultural and industrial production, the transportation of goods and passengers, and their energy consumption, all of which are disrupting the ecological balance of our planet. It is becoming increasingly obvious to everyone who feels responsible for the future of humanity that a global ecological disaster can only be avoided through a committed and profound joint effort.
The exhibition explores how art over the past two centuries has responded to changes in the natural environment. It examines how the concept of nature evolved as industrial and agricultural production scaled up, and how the different attitudes relating to this shift were manifest in artistic expression. More recent works reveal the influence of technological advancements and the diverse trends of the twentieth century, inviting visitors to reflect on their own views and responsibilities regarding an issue that will shape the future of humanity as a whole.
This complex issue is presented through the works of artists such as László Mednyánszky and Gustave Courbet, as well as Alan Sonfist, who was considered a pioneer of ecological art in the 1970s, and the artists of the Pécs Workshop. Their works enter into dialogue with those by contemporary Hungarian artists, including Tamás Dezső, Kitti Gosztola, László András Hatházi, Gideon Horváth, Tamás Kaszás, Luca Sára Rózsa, Rita Süveges, Kata Tranker and Dominika Trapp.
Habitat can be viewed during the opening time of the Museum of Fine Arts’ Agnes Denes exhibition, with which it forms a thematic kinship.
Curators of the exhibition: Katalin Harangozó, Sára Major, Zsolt Petrányi, and Linda Alexandra Tarr
