PIERRE SZÉKELY (1923-2001)
VÉRA HARSÁNYI / SZÉKELY (1919 - 1994)
Székely's enormous output of ceramics, furniture and public sculpture flowed from a convicton that art should not reside in galleries; that it should instead be fully integrated into the flow of modern life. Beginning his career as an engraver and poster artist; he understood art as a form of communication and he developed a language of signs that were to be read intuitively in the graphic context of his works. In his nonrepresentational sculpture, Székely at all times emphasizes the physical properties of his materials: their texture, color, crytalline structure and weight. He allows his ideas to grow out of his media, whether it be wood, stone or metal; so that the matter of his sculptures lives through the forms, sparingly shaped by the artist's hand. Though inspired early on by Surrealism, Székely soon dispensed with its psychological and literary aspects; choosing instead to create abstract, organic sculptures which allowed for a range of emotional responses rather than programmed interpretations. Their freeform quality and rounded shapes may by turns inspire delight, harmony or peace.
