Artists and galleries that were announced to participate in 2024 Budapest Contemporary Art Fair

The organisers have announced which renowned European galleries will participate in this year’s Budapest Contemporary Art Fair (BCT). At the international stand of the contemporary festival, 42 works by 21 artists from 12 galleries will be on display and available for purchase for around €1 million. This year’s BCT will be held at the Bálna (Whale) from 26-29 September.

This year, the exhibitions of the best-known Hungarian galleries will be placed in an international context by a dozen highly renowned foreign invitees. Galleries from Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia and Slovakia send their works to be presented at a joint stand curated by artist Márton Nemes. Nemes was the exhibiting artist of the Hungarian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale this year, who will also make his curatorial debut at the request of the Budapest Contemporary Art Fair.

In addition to the Hungarian galleries, the artists of the following 12 foreign galleries will be present at the Whale: COMMA Gallery, Eugster Belgrade, Gregor Podnar, Hunt Kastner, Marian Cramer Projects, Reiter Galleries, Semiose, Steinhauser Gallery, Walter Storms Galerie, Wentrup Gallery, Wilde Gallery, Zeller van Almsick.

Wim Delvoye’s „Caterpillar” (2004).

One of the most exciting pieces of the international exhibition is Wim Delvoye’s „Caterpillar” (2004): a tracked machine that the artist transformed into a Gothic cathedral. The special artwork is worth between HUF 50 million and HUF 100 million. Amélie Bertrand’s work „I’ll face each day with a smile” (2024) also arrives to Budapest. The young artist’s latest paintings will be exhibited at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris from October surrounded by Monet’s paintings. The curatorial selection includes renowned foreign artists including Adel Abdessemed, Omar Ba, Igor Hosnedl, Gerold Miller, and Jonny Niesche, among others. The total value of the works presented at the international stand is 1 million euros, i.e. nearly 400 million forints.

Budapest Contemporary is a defining event of Hungarian contemporary art, where 30 Hungarian galleries are represented, and high quality is ensured by a professional committee. In addition to paintings, sculptures, photos and installations worth millions of forints, those interested can also find quality works of art of modest value. The aim of the Budapest Contemporary Art Fair is to give serious attention to the actors of the Hungarian contemporary scene at the European level, so that representatives of the profession, artists, galleries, art collectors and the audience can meet each other.

Among the highlights of Hungarian galleries is the oil painting Langyos víz by László Méhes of the Nemes Gallery – the 1973 painting is one of the outstanding works of Hungarian hyperrealism. Kálmán Makláry Fine Arts will bring the works of South Korean contemporary artists, and they are preparing a special selection for this year’s fair.

Visual plan of the BCT international stand.

The Vintage Gallery presents one of the works of Vera Molnár, who passed away last year. The public will be able to see one of Zsófi Barabás’s works in the offer of the Erika Deák Gallery, and Einspach & Czapolai Fine Art will also enrich the repertoire with a painting by István Nádler.

This year’s BCT program will be accompanied by a two-day conference on the relationship between art and business, exclusive guided tours and educational programs for children and adults. The Budapest Contemporary Art Fair will be complemented by a charity online auction with objects donated by the exhibiting galleries. Bidding will be possible on the Axioart platform, and the organisers will donate the proceeds to the Autistic Art Foundation, which aims to support people with autism.

Budapest Contemporary Art Fair teaser video: