The founder of our Gallery, GEORGE Koller (1924 -1996)
The founder of our gallery has been for various reasons a singular personality. With the aid of the memories of his second wife Edit Koller, Imre Varga’ s funeral eulogy we try to give an impression of the gallerist with a legendary reputation in Hungary, György Koller, the master of the art of living.
Real Philantropy
He supported every artist with all his energy
Edit Koller remembers
György Koller had to fight for his „legendary” reputation and achieved it with his persistence, hard work, his iron will and courage (Attention! We are talking about the beginning of the 1950s in Hungary!) combined with his attachment and love for art. He was extremely good looking, smart and liberal, with extraordinary work capacity, energy and empathy – for him the word „impossible” didn’ t exist ! From the first moment on he gained the respect of the artists yet their love. He was a real Philanthropist. A magician without any governmental support! I trusted him: "Gyuri will manage it.” And he immediately took care of everything, not only the financial aspects, but also private arrangements. He managed such things as the construction of István Szőnyi’ s atelier in Zebegény (today the Szőnyi Museum), apartment or car issues for artists, which, at that time, was close to a miracle. Imre Varga once said: „Gyuri’ s room is confessional and gentlemen’ s casino at the same time.” Borsos said about the mornings he spent in the Gallery: „We came here to steal some sun”. ” (Edit Koller)
our Gallery's 60th anniversary
This book is a remembrance, homage and tribute. All this is connected to one personality, György Koller (1923-1996), who after the Second Worldwar turned into an outstanding personality in the Hungarian art trade.
Koller - In the Wake of a Legend
Above all “The Koller” was not a gallery, rather the gallerist, György Koller, turned into an institution. With an astonishing vitality and inventiveness and in spite of the most difficult circumstances, he provided the artists with the opportunity to earn their living. Thanks to his charismatic personality the artists formed a community. His closest friends were István Szőnyi, Lajos Szalay, Miklós Borsos, János Kass and last but not least Amerigo Tot, Miklós Melocco and Imre Varga. The author of this book, Balázs Feledy, not only presents us parts of the history of art through the presentation of numerous correspondences between the artists, but also offers us an intriguing insight into the private history in the 20th century.
(Corvina Kiadó, 2013), written by Balázs Feledy
The Gallery as a cultural meeting point
„We came here to steal some sun”
Friendships
He had close friendships with big names lik Amerigo Tot, Miklos Borsos, Milkós Melocco, István Szönyi and many more
The Gallery as an island of art
During Communism the artists had a lot more freedom than anywhere else to create
Excerpt of the Funeral eulogy by Imre Varga, 1994
„With shock and incomprehension we are standing here around the ashes. Our reason understands that György Koller is no longer, but somehow we are still ready to believe that it cannot be true. We cannot yet understand the full dimension of our loss, because we did not yet face his absence. We still believe that he is there behind one of the closed doors. But we need to open the door and there will be no greating word, none of his understanding intelligence, brightness. This is when we are going to realise that he is gone. His room, his chair - empty. Gone with him are our memories, the important parts of our life. With him, an era has come to an end (…)”