PHOTOS: Zapata forests charmed the Budapest audience

“Endless Forests of the Middle of the World” are well received in Hungary.

A dozen of hyperrealistic landscapes signed by the painter Servio Zapata adorned the Cervantes Institute of Budapest since 31 August, a space that hosts the exhibition of the renowned Ecuadorian artist, who has dazzled the audience with the incredible way in which he captures the nature that dwells in his mind.

“The landscapes that Zapata shows us today in Budapest live through him, and although they could well be from Ecuador, they can be from anywhere in the World, and it is that essence that makes him a universal painter, who is also an excellent human being,” said during the opening speech Ambassador José Luis Salazar Arrarte, host of the exhibition that is proposed as the first edition of cultural and artistic exchange between Ecuador and Hungary.

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Javier Valdivieso, director of the Cervantes Institute, was also present at the inauguration, welcoming guests including curators, Hungarian and Latin American artists, diplomats, and the general public interested to know the dream maker Servio Zapata and his creations.

Zapata took advantage of his visit to Hungary to dedicate one of his landscapes to the memory of the most famous Hungarian footballer in history, Ferenc Puskás, through the painting “Puskás Paradise”.

During the opening, it was learned that some of the works had already secured a home in Budapest, while others of them hoped to meet the same fate.

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“I am glad to have so many people gathered here and interested in our art, because this is certainly part of our culture, and that is why it was so important for me to have the presence of the master Servio at this moment. To see him here answering questions from the audience, sharing with Hungarian artists who feel identified with his art, is a great honor and the greatest incentive to make this an activity with continuity. May this be the first of many exhibitions of Ecuadorian artists in Hungary,” said Ambassador Salazar Arrarte.