Hungary needs such an event more than Pécs

We asked Andrea Dénes, art collector and art patron, one of the LOKART jury members, about the
about the Biennale, the city, its professional background, the jury's criteria and the contemporary
about fine art.

From what field did you come to the LOKART jury?

I am an economist by training. From art lover to first time buyer - the very first
I bought them when I was still at university - and over the years I became a collector.
My husband and I have been building our collection for almost fifteen years, and now it is not only
from Hungarian and regional artists, but also from other parts of the world.
include works.
For six years we were members of the Pompidou Centre for Central European Acquisitions in Paris.
committee. Since its foundation in 2014, we have been a supporter of OFF-Biennale, supporting
the participation of Hungarian artists at the 2012 and 2022 dOCUMENTA(13) and (15), and
we were sponsors of the Hungarian Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. From their collection
we lend to museums all the time. Our solo exhibition in 2021 at the
"Private and Public Spaces" at FUGA, and in 2022 at Q Contemporary
"Our Heritage".

What do you think of contemporary art events in Hungary today and where does it belong in the
LOKART in this, do you think?
Pécs has the ideal conditions for LOKART to become a successful
grow into a series of events. The location is beautiful, the city has good collections and
has excellent exhibition spaces. It is much more pleasant and accommodating in such a place
organised in the past - think Kassel with dOCUMENTÁ, or Basel with
Art Basel - as if you were in a busy city.

What is your relationship with the art and cultural life of Pécs?
I have no specific ties to the city, but I have spent many days in and around Pécs
with my family and friends. Sometimes we would visit the city just for an exhibition.
Pécs has a uniquely vibrant cultural life. In several artistic disciplines it is very
high level of training going on in the city, and I think it goes back and forth at the same time as bringing up
generations of artists and audiences.

What will the judging be like for you? What criteria will you use to judge?
Judging is a relatively new job for me. This year's LOKART slogan is "illusion".
allows for a broad interpretation. An important aspect will be what the works say, how they
communicate with the visitor, with the works of other artists. I will look for different

layers of meaning, and I might play with the idea that while these works
how to carry on many local or Hungarian traditions, how to enter into dialogue with the world
with works from other parts of the world.

What impact do you think such an event could have on the artistic life of the country and the region?
biennial?
The very fact that the need for this has arisen is an indication of how special Pécs is.
position. I would also venture to say that at the moment Hungary needs more
for such an event than Pécs itself. Here the needs can now meet,
and Pécs, with the participation of the local scene, can host a major event that will
through twin cities and exchanges, even to the wider international community
can be an opportunity for artists to engage in dialogue.
6.What are the trends in contemporary art in the country and which is your favourite
your movement, group, creator?
In the great museums or biennials of the world, you can see how the profession is processing
the different periods and themes one after the other. These include, for example, the
"rediscovery" of well-known artists, women's art, African art, colonialism,
LGBTQ, climate change, etc.
As art reflects on its own time, it is inevitable that similar questions
employ more than one artist at a time, or employ more artists as technology develops
experiment with similar materials and processes. But what makes a work unique and
unrepeatable, that it bears something very specific, unique to the artist
private.
Whatever the tendency, what I look for in a work is the idea or the message, the
novelty or the ability to innovate, and because I believe that the visual arts are their own
participates in social discourse through the means of its own work, those works are for me the
are the most exciting ones, where I see this happening most.