About the museum
Andras Böröcz works with his own personal iconography based on objects (the pencil, ostrich egg, glove, cactus, chimney, barrel, etc.), which appears repeatedly as he traverses a variety of themes, whether in drawing, sculpture or performance, where human conditions are coded. His personal expression is transformed to a collective experience through humor and in his choices of materials.
By playing with function and cultural symbols and by exaggerating certain formal aspects inherent to contemporary society, he makes works that can be seen as portraits of himself and also of everyman. Sometimes they appear idiosyncratic and quirky; at other times they seem typical by-products of the search for collective cultural truths and global symbols.
Böröcz finds that movement, whether actual or implied reveals an inherent awkwardness, a humor that echoes human vulnerabilities. His works appear dreamlike in which fiction and reality meet, well-known tropes merge, meanings shift, past and present fuse. Time and memory always play a key role. Often his sculptures are a summary of a performance, but just as often, the sculptures inspire one.
Böröcz’s work with pencils – begun more than 23 years ago – applies a poetic and often absurd and metaphorical language with references and ideas completely integrated into the process and composition of the work. The pencil has become, in a sense, his signature material.
Andras Böröcz was born in Budapest, Hungary. His work has been exhibited extensively in Europe and the U.S.
Prizes and Scholarships
2011"The Best Exhibition of the Year, 2011" award, by Mozgó Világ Magazine, Budapest, HU
1995 Residency, Civitella Ranieri Center, Umbertide, Italy
1990AIM Program at the Bronx Museum, New York 1989Membership at the IKG, West Germany
1988 Scholarship, The Banff Center of Fine Arts, Canada 1984Visiting Artist Grant, Canada Council
1983-86 Derkovits Grant, Budapest, HU 1983 Art Prize, Studio 83 Exhibition, Budapest, HU
Public Collections
Ampersand Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa
Boston Public Library Special Collections, MA
Cerritos Library Special Collections, CA
City College Public Art, NYC (commission)
István Király Múzeum, Székesfehérvár, HU
Janus Pannonius Múzeum, Pecs, HU
Jewish Museum, New York City Látványtar, Diszel, HU
Ludwig Muzeum, Budapest, HU
Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum, Budapest
HU MODEM (Modern Museum of Art), Debrecen, HU
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
Sächlische-Landesbibliothek–Staats–&-Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, Germany
Yale University Art of the Book Collection, New Haven, CT
Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book Library, CT
Zsidó Múzeum (Jewish Museum), Budapest, HU