Exhibition Displays Rare Personal Collection of Breast Cancer Movement Pioneer
Boston – October 30, 2009 – An exhibition from the private art collection of former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Nancy G. Brinker — also the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® — is now on display at Sherman Gallery, Boston University. The exhibition is an effort to unite people with a passion for art with those who want to make a difference in the global fight against breast cancer.
In celebration of the Art for the Cure exhibit, there will be a special, invitation-only opening night event at Sherman Gallery on November 4 to honor Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker and Dr. Eric Winer, Komen for the Cure Chief Scientific Advisor, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Stacey Lucchino, Karen Webster and Fred Chicos are co-chairs for the evening and are joined by a host committee comprised of key business and philanthropic leaders in the Boston community. Proceeds raised from the event will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer research and advocacy and community programs.
While serving in Hungary, Ambassador Brinker developed a passion for the country’s art which evolved into a world-class collection. Beginning November 4 and running through December 11, Sherman Gallery presents an exhibition entitled, “Creating Freedom: From Post-Revolutionary to Post-Communist Art in Hungary.” There will be 19 pieces from the Nancy G. Brinker Collection. This is the first time such an extensive collection of contemporary Hungarian art has been shown in the United States
Launched in late 2006 with events in Komen Affiliate cities across the United States, Art for the Cure presents more than great works of art to a world audience. It also increases breast health awareness and helps raise vital funds to support national and international breast cancer outreach and education efforts.
About the Nancy G. Brinker Collection
Hungary has the fourth highest death rate among women with breast cancer in the world. While serving in Hungary from 2001-2003, Brinker played a significant role in raising breast cancer screening rates there by 40 percent. At the same time, Brinker also fell in love with the country’s art. She found much comfort in it and sought a deeper understanding of the complex history of the beleaguered Eastern European nation.
“It began as an effort to honor Hungarian artists as seen through the eyes of an American,” said Brinker. “These pieces capture a unique time and place in history. I am proud to bring Hungarian art to the American public and raise awareness about the artists just as we continue to raise money and awareness to find the cures for breast cancer.”
About the Exhibition
Creating Freedom: From Post-Revolutionary to Post-Communist Art in Hungary
Post-1956 Hungarian art courageously addressed issues that were declared off-limits by the then political power: free expression and freedom of thinking. Although the focal point of Hungarian culture has traditionally been literature, the power of the visual arts was not lost on totalitarian leaders. They sure understood that an image is worth a thousand words, and unfailingly persecuted non-realistic, non-official visual expression.
The curator of the exhibition, Eva Forgacs, features paintings from this period as well as the post-communist decades. The photo-based works of László Fehér, Károly Kelemen and László Lakner were just as rebellious in their pursuit of truth as the geometric abstraction of István Nádler, the assertively feminine imagery of Ilona Keserü, or the impulsively informal painting of Károly Klimó and Krisztián Frey. Along with the political gags of Sándor Pinczehelyi and the idiosyncratic abstract works of Ákos Birkás these images walk the viewer through a historical period when bias from the officially set norms of populism was not tolerated, and it took deep conviction, intellectual power and personal courage to work against the grains of the mainstream current.
On view will be works from the post-communist era, too, demonstrating that there was no clear division between “before and after”. Fehér is just as socially sensitive when he paints the Budapest homeless of the present as he had been when he represented a socialist brigade. Nádler has made further forays into a broader spiritual realm, while Attila Szücs, a representative of the younger generation confronts us with the chilling impersonality of our brave new world.
