BUDAPEST.- The celebrated French contemporary artist Bernar Venet’s nearly eight-ton sculptural composition arrived in Budapest, the capital of Hungary earlier in July 2015. The spectacular work is placed in the city center on a busy public square by the Danube River. The installation of the sculpture was initiated and organized by Art Market Budapest, Eastern Europe’s leading contemporary art fair, with the cooperation of the Municipality of Budapest. The inauguration of the spectacular composition – personally attended by the 74-year-old master – was called by Deputy Mayor for Cultural Affairs Mrs. Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky, an exceptional honor for the city. In fact, “the installation of such a highly valued and amazing art piece by a globally admired artist such as Bernar Venet would have been a very special occasion in any city of any part of the world.” Art Market Budapest welcomes Bernar Venet as Guest of Honor at its upcoming edition, while - parallel with the inauguration of Venet’s large-scale work - the internationally known László Vass Collection dedicates an entire show to the artist’s oeuvre titled MetaMetria.

Bernar Venet is among the top rated, internationally recognized sculptors of our time. The master was born in France in 1941 and has become particularly famous for his monumental works exhibited in public spaces worldwide: placed in such cultural centers and top cities as Paris, Berlin, Cologne, Geneva, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Auckland, Denver or San Francisco. The artist is very well represented in significant private collections, and nearly a hundred prestigious museums and corporate collections own his works.

“The City of Budapest – in a strategic partnership with Art Market Budapest – is committed to bring contemporary art close to visitors and citizens of the city. To receive an art piece created by such an admired international artist as Bernar Venet is an enormous honor to all of us in Budapest. This work of art, I hope, will become a starting point in the process of adding more contemporary visual elements to the image of Budapest,” stressed Deputy Mayor Mrs. Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

Art Market Budapest is Eastern Europe’s leading international art fair with over 24 thousand visitors in 2014 and some 100 exhibitors expected from around 25 countries in 2015. The fair, to take place on the second week of October, invited Bernar Venet as Guest of Honor to its program dedicated to the art of sculptures. This masterpiece Arcs in disorder: 3 arcs x 4, valued at over 1 million Euros and previously exhibited in the park of the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, will be joined by another large-scale work by Venet shortly before the October 7 opening of Art Market Budapest 2015, to be placed at the fair location.

“One of the main goals of Art Market Budapest is to present Budapest as one of Europe’s most significant cultural capitals. The spectacular debut of an internationally known, globally appreciated artist such as Bernar Venet is a great contribution in that sense. It also helps engage a large number of visitors and citizens of Budapest with contemporary art, which is among the missions of why Art Market Budapest was established a few years ago,” added Mr. Attila Ledényi, Founding Director of Art Market Budapest on the occasion of the inauguration event.

The László Vass Collection, one of Central and Eastern Europe’s most prestigious private museums located in the Hungarian city of Veszprém, is a regular presenter of big-name contemporary artists. The museum dedicates a comprehensive exhibition to Venet’s works under the title MetaMetria curated by the young expert Ms. Viola Lukács. Guests of the VIP and Collectors Program of Art Market Budapest in October will enjoy a guided tour at the show.