KERN Andor
1906, Budapest -?
The Life
We don’t know much about his spirit. We know more about the spirit of his art.
The Art
As most critics noticed, the basic feature of his art is graphic composition.
Critics remark him or critics’ remarks about him
He studied in Budapest at the School of Fine Arts under the guidance of master Rudnay Gyula, in Munich, with Hermann Groeber as his teacher; and in Paris.
He participated in an Austro-Hungarian exhibition at the National Salon, in 1931, an occasion which had the critics remark: “The strength of Kern Andor's expressionist canvases, with a symbolic theme, lies rather in his graphic composition, a basic feature of his art, what will be noticed by most of his critics.”
In its March 1932 issue, the magazine Literatura from Budapest, published three reproductions of the artist's works, with a biblical (Savior) and social (Unemployed, Gas War) theme. In these paintings, graphic appearance is defining. The Savior, which appeared on the cover of the magazine, is depicted crucified in front of a metropolis dominated by skyscrapers. The three works represent a thematic triptych of the oppressive atmosphere that was dominant at the end of the economic crisis.
A year later, he benefited from a large hall exhibition at the Ernst Museum, organized with five other artists. The critic of the newspaper Újság stated that the artist had neither a say nor a means of expression to fill an entire room. On the other hand, the journalist considered the young man a rising star and appreciated the refinement and decorativeness of the two-dimensional representation.
The worldly spirit of Art Deco
The work in our collection is part of these refined works, which bring the worldly spirit of Art Deco. It is about the metropolitan lifestyle, the one that can be seen in Paris and to which Budapest also aspired, that of elegant femininity and glacial sensuality. Of course, the look of the poster is not accidental, as this lifestyle is expressed through the genres of mechanical reproduction of the image: glossy magazines, movie posters, and product advertisements.
An interesting detail of this exhibition was the fact that one of the participants was Vásárhelyi Győző, a graphic designer from Paris, later known as the famous Victor Vasarely.
Cause of death… unknown
He died under the name of Kenedi, but we don’t know the circumstances of his death. All we know, according to newspaper reports, is that we can track his artistic activity back to 1940.
