Transcarpathian Regional Art Museum named after Y. Bokshay invites art lovers to a special event – the opening of a special exhibition of Adalbert Erdeli's works, dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the prominent artist's birth.

Adalbert Erdeli (born 25 May 1891, Klimovytsia village, Irshava region – died 19 September 1955, Uzhhorod) was an artist, educator, and cultural figure. He was one of the founders of the Transcarpathian school of painting. From 1911-1915, he studied at the Hungarian Royal Institute of Art, after which he travelled extensively throughout Europe, absorbing the experience and achievements of renowned artistic centres such as Budapest, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Paris, and Rome. His artistic journey intersected with that of well-known European artists of the 20th century. However, despite the allure of the Western art world and his own prospects within it, Adalbert Erdeli chose to prioritise his native Transcarpathia.

In 1927, together with his like-minded colleague Yosyp Bokshay, he organised the Public Drawing School in Uzhhorod, and in 1931 headed the Society of Artists. He was one of the organisers and the first director of the Uzhhorod School of Applied Arts. As a teacher, he nurtured a constellation of well-known Transcarpathian artists, including Volodymyr Mykyta, Andriy Kotska, Adalbert Boretsky, Ernest Kontratovych, Vasyl Gabda, Yelyzaveta Kremnytska, Ferenc Szemán, Pavlo Ballu, and many others.

He was also one of the initiators and the first chairman of the Transcarpathian branch of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine in 1946.

The influence of Adalbert Erdeli on the formation of the artistic environment in the country is difficult to overestimate. At the same time, the exhibition dedicated to his 135th anniversary offers an immersion into the artist's creative world – rich, diverse, and unique.

As the museum notes, the institution's collection comprises around a hundred works by Adalbert Erdeli. A significant portion of these will be put on display. These works span different creative periods, from those the artist completed immediately after finishing his studies, to his very last pieces, painted in the final years of his life. Art enthusiasts can look forward to encountering the artist's paintings and graphic works, as well as considerable genre variety.

"The artistic heritage of Adalbert Erdeli features significant achievements in various genres; he works with equal success in landscape and still life, portraiture and narrative composition. While retaining characteristics of a respectfully objective approach to nature, the painter's works embody features of innovative artistic qualities. This is evident in his use of broad decorative planes of colour with a dominance of strong and resonant hues, his bold application of painterly-figurative generalisation and stylisation, and his engagement with free artistic improvisation. The visual vocabulary of the painter invariably captivates with its expressive and, at the same time, uninhibitedly artistic energy, and attracts with its appropriately found balance between fidelity to his personal creative programme and the dynamism of searching and experimentation," reads the exhibition description.

Visitors will have a wonderful opportunity to view the work of the distinguished Adalbert Erdély from various perspectives, form a comprehensive impression of his creativity, and perhaps even discover it anew.