Even before the fall of Viktor Orbán, discussions had already emerged in the Hungarian public sphere about the collective trauma experienced by Hungarian society and the consequences it continues to suffer from.

On an interpretive level, Post–Transition State of Doubt asks how we arrived at a moment in which we have once again become hostages to authoritarian visions of a new order, and whether Central Europe is once more being “kidnapped,” in the Kunderian sense—not by external geopolitics this time, but by its own fear, distrust, exhaustion, and suppression of imagination. Rather than focusing solely on what has ended, the exhibition is primarily concerned with what persists and what may only become visible in the future.

The curatorial selection brings together works created by eight artists over the past twenty years, and addresses questions about Hungarian society through both direct political commentary and more personal forms of symbolism, memory, language, humour, and everyday gestures.

Kisterem is a Budapest-based gallery founded in 2006. Alongside ACB and Vintage, it is one of the private platforms that have played a significant role in the historical reassessment and international presentation of postwar Hungarian art, and has helped introduce numerous middle-aged and younger artists to the international art scene. The gallery’s program ranges from the legacy of the Hungarian neo-avant-garde, through the post-conceptual tendencies of the middle-aged generation to the progressive approaches of contemporary digital-born artists.

Under the increasingly adverse conditions of Orbán-era Hungary, kisterem has played an important role in fostering connections within the independent art scene and situating it within a broader international context. In addition to its own exhibition program, the gallery regularly participates in international art fairs and maintains long-term collaboration with foreign galleries, curators, and institutions.

Curator: Jakub Frank
Collaboration: Sara Vilma Nagy, kisterem

Opening hours: daily 9 AM – 6:30 PM