Although the fve years that have passed since the 1st National Salon of Applied Arts and Design is a very short time in the centuries’ old history of Hungarian metalwork, perceptible changes have taken place. The metalwork selection at this year’s exhibition clearly demonstrates the emphatic presence of the young generation, mainly active in the area of jewellery making. During the time between the national salons of 2017 and 2022 the members of this generation have demanded a place for themselves and earned recognition in professional circles.
If we look at the different areas of metalwork, the exhibition showcases a wide palette. Jewellery-making is perhaps the oldest branch of metalwork, with great traditions; it is this type of object that young people having started their careers recently are renewing. These young artists take a genuine and open approach to the achievements of contemporary design, enabling many of them to build their own brands and appear on the international scene. The range of materials they work with far surpasses those used in traditional metalwork. At the same time, jewellery-making fundamentally derives from metalworking, an area represented at this exhibition by the middle-aged and older generations with expert skill and craftsmanship.
Fashioning sacred objects, linked to the needs of church rituals, also harks back to a tradition of hundreds of years. This year’s National Salon presents some pieces from this area too, reinvented with a contemporary approach. These objects with a practical function and connected to interior design represent a branch of metalwork akin to the design of space. This year’s selection includes some autonomous works that can be linked to the genre of metal sculpture; they were made to represent aesthetic and conceptual value rather than to perform a function.
Each exhibit in the metalwork section of the 2nd National Salon is characterised by a broad spectrum of techniques, confirming their makers’ intention to combine traditional handicraft methods with 21st-century metalworking – even digital – processes.
László Kálmán
Noémi Ferenczy Award laureate gold- and silversmith, applied artist