22nd Design Without Borders - Object - Photo / Photo - Object
International design, photography, and all-arts exhibition and event series
Kiscell Museum, Church Hall, Budapest (1037 Budapest, Kiscelli u. 108.)
4 Oct - 1 Nov 2026
22. Határtalan Design / Design Without Borders
Nemzetközi design-, fotó- és összművészeti kiállítás és rendezvénysorozat
Kiscelli Múzeum – Templomtér (1037 Budapest, Kiscelli u. 108.)
2026. október 4. – november 1.
MAIN SPONSORS / FŐTÁMOGATÓK
PARTNERS / PARTNEREK:
Budapest History Museum - Kiscell Museum
UMPRUM Academy of Art, Architecture, and Design in Prague
Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (AFAD)
Pro Progressione Ltd
Łódź Art Center
Vienna Design Office - Verein Neigungsgruppe Design
Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź
ABOUT / A KIÁLLÍTÁSRÓL
ENGLISH
22nd Design Without Borders
International design, photography, and all-arts exhibition and event series
Venue: Kiscell Museum – Church Hall (H-1037 Budapest, Kiscelli u. 108. Hungary)
Exhibition dates: 4 October – 1 November 2026
Professional Symposium (on-site & online): 4 October 2026, 10:30–14:00
Opening hours: Monday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00
The exhibition is part of the international Bicentenaire de la Photographie exhibition programme.
Celebrating its 22nd edition, Design Without Borders presents this year's interdisciplinary exhibition and event series under the theme Object–Photo / Photo–Object, marking the bicentenary of photography.
The international selection features the work of nearly 180 artists from more than 15 countries. Continuing a tradition established in 2022, each edition of the exhibition highlights the design culture of a particular country or region. This year, the focus is on works by artists and university students from the V4 countries.
The name Design Without Borders reflects the project's international character, its commitment to European cultural cooperation and regional dialogue, while emphasising exchange across artistic disciplines, themes and generations.
The exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of works created at the intersection of object and photography. Alongside historical references, it presents design, fine art, experimental and narrative approaches to the relationship between objects and photographic imagery, with particular attention to the connections between object design, jewellery art and photography. A multidisciplinary installation combining textiles, photography and contemporary music is also featured as part of the exhibition.
Continuing a long-standing tradition, an international professional symposium will accompany the exhibition, where participating artists and invited partners will give illustrated ten-minute presentations in English. This year's symposium focuses on the relationship between object and photography and will be accessible both on-site and online.
Throughout the exhibition, visitors can attend classical and contemporary music concerts as well as curator-led guided tours. The detailed symposium programme and the schedule of concerts and guided tours will be available on the exhibition website from 15 September 2026.
Thanks to the long-term commitment of its founding curators, Design Without Borders has grown into one of Central Europe's leading independent design and all-arts event series, despite operating without permanent institutional backing. For many years, the four-week exhibition has been hosted in one of Budapest's most remarkable exhibition venues: the atmospheric Church Hall of the Kiscell Museum.
Founding curators: Szilvia Szigeti, textile designer, Tamás Radnóti, interior designer
The exhibition and its accompanying programme are realised with the support of the International Visegrad Fund, the National Cultural Fund of Hungary, the Budapest History Museum – Kiscell Museum, and through the cooperation and support of the embassies and cultural institutes of the participating countries. The concert programme is additionally supported by the Wacław Felczak Foundation.
HUNGARIAN
22. Határtalan Design - Tárgy-Fotó / Fotó-Tárgy
Nemzetközi design-, fotóművészeti és összművészeti kiállítás és rendezvénysorozat
Helyszín: Kiscelli Múzeum – Templomtér (1037 Budapest, Kiscelli u. 108.)
Időpont: 2026. október 4. – november 1.
Személyesen és online követhető szakmai nap: 2026. október 4. 10:30 – 14:00
Nyitvatartás: hétfő (!) – vasárnap 10:00–18:00
A kiállítás a Bicentenaire de la Photographie nemzetközi kiállítássorozat része.
A 22 éves múltra visszatekintő Határtalan Design / Design Without Borders kiállítás és interdiszciplináris művészeti programsorozat idei kiadása a fotográfia kétszáz éves jubileumához kapcsolódva a Tárgy–Fotó / Fotó–Tárgy tematikát állítja középpontba.
A nemzetközi válogatásban több mint 15 ország közel 180 alkotójának munkái szerepelnek. A 2022-ben elindított hagyományt folytatva a kiállítás minden évben egy-egy ország vagy régió designkultúráját állítja fókuszba. Az idei kiadás kiemelt figyelmet fordít a V4-országok művészeinek és egyetemi hallgatóinak alkotásaira.
A Határtalan Design / Design Without Borders elnevezés a kezdeményezés nemzetközi karakterére, az európai kulturális együttműködésre és a regionális párbeszédre utal, miközben hangsúlyozza a művészeti ágak, tematikák és generációk közötti átjárhatóság jelentőségét.
A kiállítás a tárgy és a fotográfia metszéspontjában létrejött alkotásokból nyújt átfogó válogatást. A történeti előzmények felidézése mellett design-, képzőművészeti, kísérleti és narratív megközelítéseket mutat be, külön figyelmet fordítva a tárgyalkotás, az ékszerművészet és a fotográfia kapcsolódási pontjaira. A program részeként egy textilt, fotográfiát és kortárs zenét ötvöző multidiszciplináris installáció is látható.
A megnyitót követő napon – a hagyományoknak megfelelően – nemzetközi szakmai szimpóziumra kerül sor, ahol a kiállítók és meghívott partnerek angol nyelvű, tízperces, vetítéssel kísért előadásokban mutatják be munkáikat. Az idei konferencia központi témája a tárgy és a fotográfia kapcsolata. A rendezvény személyesen és online egyaránt követhető.
A kiállítás időtartama alatt klasszikus és kortárs zenei koncertek, valamint kurátori tárlatvezetések gazdagítják a programot. A szakmai nap részletes programja, valamint a koncertek és tárlatvezetések időpontjai 2026. szeptember 15-től érhetők el a rendezvény honlapján.
Az alapító kurátorok szakmai elkötelezettségének köszönhetően az intézményi háttér nélkül létrejött Határtalan Design / Design Without Borders az elmúlt huszonkét év során Közép-Európa egyik legjelentősebb független design- és összművészeti rendezvénysorozatává vált. A négyhetes kiállítás évek óta Budapest egyik legkülönlegesebb kiállítóterében, a Kiscelli Múzeum Templomterében kap helyet.
Alapító kurátorok: Szigeti Szilvia textiltervező és Radnóti Tamás belsőépítész.
A kiállítás és kísérőprogramjai a Nemzetközi Visegrádi Alap, a Nemzeti Kulturális Alap, a Budapesti Történeti Múzeum – Kiscelli Múzeum, valamint a részt vevő országok nagykövetségeinek és kulturális intézeteinek támogatásával és együttműködésével valósulnak meg. A koncertprogram létrejöttét a Wacław Felczak Alapítvány támogatása is segíti.
EXHIBITION / KIÁLLÍTÁS © Attila Kovács
PHOTO: Attila Kovács
DESCRIPTION - EN
Design Without Borders - Reflections
An international crossover exhibition focusing on textiles, jewellery and contemporary music
The Design Without Borders – Reflections exhibition presents a special all-arts experience, where Austrian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Slovenian textile and jewellery designers reflect on the works of contemporary composers. The exhibition programme includes curatorial guided tours with the artists, and a dance performance at the VDW Site Event on 29 September.
The 22-year old Budapest exhibition and event series is showcased for the fourth time outside the Hungarian capital, and for the second time as part of Vienna Design Week. Realised without institutional backing, this independent project has evolved greatly and has now become one of the region's major design and all-arts events.
The name “Design Without Borders” refers to the internationality of the project, regional dialogue and European cohesion, focusing on the interoperability between different artistic disciplines and themes and the dialogue between generations. The organisers are keen to demonstrate the wider meaning of design: by broadening the concept, they focus on creativity and innovation.
The exhibition at Vienna's Polish Institute is an integral continuation of two previous DWB projects, the 2023 thematic exhibition at the FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture, organised to mark the 100th anniversary of György Ligeti’s birth. There, eleven Hungarian textile artists designed digitally printed works for the composer's 11-movement piano cycle Musica Ricercata.
This year, twenty Hungarian textile artists created digitally printed textiles inspired by the CentriFUGA production of the Transparent Sound New Music Festival in Budapest, which were again presented at the FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture. Eight composers participated in the project, creating different music flows, which were visually mapped by the textile artists. With the same-sized textile modules, placed next to each other in the exhibition, the designers were free to create a reflection on the style of the chosen composers or a specific piece of music.
As a continuation of the above series, the exhibition – now international in scope – features digitally printed same-size textiles inspired by the works of contemporary composers that were designed and freely interpreted by textile artists and graphic designers. Also included are works by contemporary jewellery artists, who dedicate their works to specific pieces by the composers. The musical works are accessible via QR code in the exhibition, offering visitors an innovative all-arts experience. The project brings together artists from different generations, emerging artists, mid-generation and established textile and jewellery designers, graphic designers and contemporary composers.
Text by: Gabriella Rothman
The event is supported by the International Visegrad Fund.
The founding curators of the exhibition are:
Tamás Radnóti, interior designer, and Szilvia Szigeti textile designer.
Accompanying programme: on 29 September at 18:00
Cocktail reception, discussion and dance performance:
Design without borders – Reflections
An all-art event attended by the exhibiting artists, featuring a dance performance followed by a reception, with the participation of dancer Rita Góbi.
Curators will be present during gallery opening hours on:
27 Sep 2025 16:00 – 18:00
28 Sep 16:00 – 18:00
4 Oct 16:00 – 18:00
4 Oct 16:00 – 18:00
EXHIBITORS / KIÁLLÍTÓK
XXX
The Hungarian artist, who has lived in the Netherlands since 2008, focuses primarily on the theory of social reproduction, motherhood, unpaid labor, and issues of care in her work—whether through photography, performance, or curatorial practice.
She graduated with a degree in photography from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam in 2012, and in 2017 she founded the Mothers in Arts Residency, a residency program combined with a community daycare center that supports female artists raising young children.
Her 2019 project, Pillars of Home, explores the relationship between home, objects, and people. The series consists of 98 balancing sculptures that the artist created during her son’s afternoon naps, when their home—the living room, kitchen, bedroom, or even the stairwell—briefly transformed into a studio. The pillars in the title refer both to our own inner stability and to those carefully balanced compositions made of everyday objects, framed only by the floor and the ceiling. These towering piles of objects could collapse at any moment, and if the installation collapses, not only is the creation of the image jeopardized, but the noise of the falling objects might wake the sleeping baby, bringing the work to an end. Pillars of Home is essentially ninety-eight answers to the dilemma of how a mother finds balance among her various tasks and how she juggles
A 2008 óta Hollandiában élő magyar művész munkája során – legyen szó fotográfiáról, performance-ról vagy éppen szervezői tevékenységről – elsősorban a társadalmi reprodukció elméletével, az anyasággal, a fizetetlen munkával és a gondoskodás kérdéseivel foglalkozik.
2012-ben fotószakon diplomázott a rotterdami Willem de Kooning Akadémián, majd 2017-ben megalapította a Mothers in Arts Residency névre keresztelt, közösségi napközivel kombinált rezidenciaprogramot, amely olyan nő művészeket támogat, akik kisgyermeket nevelnek.
A 2019-ben készült Pillars of Home (Az otthon pillérei) című projekt az otthon, a tárgyak és az ember közötti viszonyt vizsgálja. A sorozat 98 egyensúlyozó szoborból áll, amelyeket a művész a fia délutáni szunyókálása alatt készített, amikor az otthonuk – a nappali, a konyha, a hálószoba vagy akár a lépcsőház – egy rövid időre műteremmé változott. A címben szereplő pillérek egyszerre utalnak a saját belső stabilitásunkra és azokra a használati tárgyakból alkotott, gondosan kiegyensúlyozott kompozíciókra, amelyeket csupán a padló és a mennyezet foglal keretbe. Ezek az egymásra tornyosuló tárgyhalmok bármelyik pillanatban összeomolhatnak, és ha az installáció összeomlik, nemcsak a kép létrejötte kerül veszélybe, de a leeső tárgyak zaja felébresztheti az alvó babát is, ami véget vet a munkának. A Pillars of Home tulajdonképpen kilencvennyolc válasz arra a dilemmára, hogy hogyan találja meg egy anya az egyensúlyt a különféle feladatai között, és hogyan zsonglőrködik nap mint nap a rendelkezésére álló idővel.
Click on the images / Kattints a képre
JEWELLERY DESIGNERS / ÉKSZERTERVEZŐK
Susanne Hammer (AT), Stanislava Grebeníčková (CZ), Anežka Váňová (CZ) , Petr Vogel (CZ), Gera Noémi - Földi Kinga (HU), Jermakov Katalin (HU), Kocsor Eszter Sára (HU), Martyna Golińska (PL), Dariusz Stefan Wojdyga (PL), Emilia Wyra (PL), Cleopatra Cosulet (RO), Sandra Kocjančič (SI), Blanka Cepková (SK), Karin Šusteková(SK), Karol Weisslechner (SK)
AT
Susanne Hammer
jewellery designer
Viola Falb
composer
Saxophonquartett PHOEN
Viola Falb - s.sax
Florian Fennes - cl
Arnold Zamarin - t.sax
Christoph Pepe Auer - bcl
The themes that Viola Falb deals with in her composition “Drehmoment” (Torque) also interest me in my own work. According to the definition, torque means “the rotation of a body around a point”, so it is about movement and mobility, and this is of course also an important element in the design of chains - which are my main theme. The connecting points are central to linking the single parts into a larger whole. Central questions, also in the present work, are: How does one part follow the other? How is the connection point formed from one element to the next? The focus is often also on breaking up the chain’s flow: the points of collision generate a charming break in the otherwise flowing movement - the resistant, bulky element that undermines the usual smooth chain look can be found in some of my works.
Rhythm and repetition are essential stylistic elements in Falb's composition, as are the swelling and fading of the sound as well as small disturbances and irritations. And just as a chain can only function aesthetically if “the whole is more than the sum of its parts”, this is probably also the case with a composition in the field of music.
CZ
Anežka Váňová
jewellery designer
Martin Brunner
composer
Martin Brunner - piano & Prophet 6
Tomáš Fuchs - guitar
Rastislav Uhrík - bass guitar
Roman Vícha - drums
The series of brooches is inspired by the work of Louis Kahn and brick architecture, which through its colours, ornamentation, and material origin blends with the surrounding landscape. For me, a brick is a piece of earth shaped by human hands into a building material and then returned to the landscape as a house—a home. My jewellery reflects a long process that began with clay I gathered from my garden and grew into a series of brick brooches.
For me, the theme of transformation is also reflected in the composition Angel Esmeralda by the Martin Brunner Band. The piece unfolds through moments of quiet stillness, gentle shifts, and passages filled with tension and uncertainty — as though the material were slowly finding its new form. Gradually, these give way to brighter, more joyful tones, celebrating new potential and possibility. Like the glint of light on a finished piece, the music captures the moment when change is no longer a disturbance, but a form of belonging.
CZ
Petr Vogel
jewellery designer
Martin Brunner
composer
Performed by the Martin Brunner Trio
Behind the Clouds by composer and pianist Martin Brunner invites you to look beyond the visible. It reminds me of a plot that develops from an urgent minimalist motif into a harmony, a kind of rich play of moods, celestial tones, colours and light. The atmosphere of the piece carries a calmness and at the same time a tension in anticipation of what lies beyond the "clouds".
A series of window jewellery/objects pays homage to presence, the perception of space, movement and the poetry of sound. It is an attempt to translate the musical experience into a material form, animated by light.
The layered bands in the objects capture and reflect light in different ways, depending on the angle of the sun as well as the intersections of daylight through clouds. The subtle lines evoke atmospheric layers as well as the gentle ripples of the sky. A ripple whose movement, as in Behind the Clouds, is natural and beautiful.
CZ
Stanislava Grebeníčková
jewellery designer
Martin Brunner
composer
Video by Anežka Horová
Music by the Martin Brunner Band
Tomáš Fuchs - guitar
Martin Brunner - keyboards
Rastislav Uhrík - bass
Roman Vícha - drums
Creating a piece of jewellery to music is a very unusual topic. They are two seemingly incompatible artistic expressions.
I chose the music of musician Martin Brunner, whose brilliant jazz-tinged piano compositions really appealed to me. His piano composition Space Rover is close to me in its subject matter, so I hope that the formative and aesthetic side of my brooches will resonate with this musical composition.
HU
Noémi Gera & Kinga Földi
jewellery designers
Bálint Bolcsó & Oliver Mayne
composers
Bálint Bolcsó - electronics
Oliver Mayne - vibraphone, electronics
Jingling silver, rustling silk
In Bálint Bolcsó and Oliver Mayne's High Rising, we found the mindset that accompanies the creation of our jewellery. In the appearance of our objects, neither material dominates the other – silver and silk are in equal dialogue, just as we are in the process of creating. For us, design is not a linear process: one of us starts it, the other continues it – enriching the evolving form with her own materials and tools. Our jewellery is not a precise execution of plans drawn on paper, but a living, constantly evolving collaboration: the result of communication between materials and creators. The melodies and noises in the music seem to evoke the sound of our favourite materials, the jingling of silver, the rustle of starched silk, the clink and hum of the tools that shape the jewellery. Our objects reflect the same visual pulsation, alternating between pin-tucked caterpillar silk and the striped patterns of cast silver, further enlivened by the playful, sinuous counterpoints of coloured wires.
HU
Katalin Jermakov
jewellery designer
composer:
Gryllus Dániel
Samu Gryllus ·
lyrics: Weöres Sándor
song:
Palya Bea
My music of choice is a track from Samu Gryllus' album "A teljesség felé” (Towards Completeness). "A gondolatok visszája” (The Flip side of Thoughts) is a slow, descending melody with a pulsating drum accompaniment, accompanied by a fast, folksy violin solo in the background. The contrast that emerges fits perfectly with the lyrics of the song, "Be careful whether you think light or dark, for what you think you have created."
Since almost all my jewellery is based on contrasts of opposites, the choice was obvious. Black and white, squares and circles, soft and hard materials, concave and convex surfaces, which eventually balance out and create a harmonious unison. My recent anamorphic jewellery takes this idea further: by changing the point of view, they are able to change their meaning, the personality of the viewer deciding which element feels emphasised and true to them personally.
HU
Eszter Sára Kocsor
jewellery designer
Bálint Bolcsó
composer
Oliver Mayne - vibraphone
Bálint Bolcsó - live electronics
Ernő Hock - double bass, bass guitar
Zsolt Sárvári Kovács - drums
My jewellery is made of stainless steel, I use a spot welding laser to weld the mirror-finished elements together. I use flat plates, and my latest collection includes concave mirrors that spread and invert space. I often place faceted stones in the centre of the jewellery, which are multiplied and spread out in the flat or concave mirrors that surround them.
I closed my eyes and felt that I could see my jewels in the sounds. The chaos of the drums reminded me of the steel elements of my mirrory collection; the tinkling, cosmic tones the faceted polished stones. It's as if I'm floating in the universe and all around me these stones and flat and concave mirrors are moving to and fro, sometimes colliding and sometimes falling apart. Coming together brings wonder, falling apart brings excitement. The alternation of these two sensations is cathartic for me.
PL
Dariusz Stefan Wojdyga
jewellery designer
Tomasz Skweres
composer
Performed by Quatuor Avena:
Nicolas Allard – sax. soprano
Fabio Cesare – sax. alto, soprano
Sumika Tsujimoto – sax. tenor, soprano
Adam Campbell – sax. baritone, alto
This kinetic bracelet interprets the dramatic, shifting dynamics of Tomasz Skweres’ Penrose Square. Composed of four interconnected metal cubes, CUBEONES can transform between a compact block and an expanded, wearable sculpture. Each cube contains a mineral sphere rich in iron – movement activates them, producing subtle metallic sounds. The more vigorous the motion, the more intense the sound, echoing the music’s energy shifts: a powerful opening, contrasting silences, rising tension, and sudden drops. The design alludes to Oscar Reutersvärd’s impossible figures, mirroring the illusory, multidimensional nature of Skweres’ sonic landscape.
PL
Emilia Wyra
jewellery designer
Marcin Stańczyk
composer
Blind walk by Marcin Stańczyk & The Glove
Even the title of this musical piece resonates with my artwork. It refers to perception beyond the sense of sight. Touch and hearing are not merely complementary to vision. They are just as relevant, unfortunately often underappreciated, ways of perceiving.
Geysir-Grisey by Marcin Stańczyk & To Catch a Breath
Dread about the future feeds fatalistic visions. I associate the sound of this piece with my anxiety about dragging the energetic transformation of my country. Maybe this link will also resonate with viewers and cause reflection.
PL
Martyna Golińska
jewellery designer
Tomasz Skweres
composer
Performed by Yui Iwata
I chose Impact for Violin Solo by Tomasz Skweres because it strikes with extraordinary intensity and emotional tension. The violin guides the listener through a dense, dramatic narrative – its sounds are sharp and precise, evoking a sense of inner agitation. At times it even resembles an emotional monologue.
But what captivated me the most in this piece is its contrast. In this monologue, amid the sudden “striking” phrases, emerge moments of quiet and melancholy. The sounds soften, lose their sharpness, as if the violin is momentarily turning a scream into a whisper. It is this very combination of roughness and gentleness that had the greatest impact on me.
My approach during the design of my jewellery was similar. While working on those rings, I consciously combined sharp, expressive lines with softer, more organic and flowing forms. Just as in Skweres’ composition, where tension and calmness collide, so too in my jewellery precision meets sensuality.
RO
Cleopatra Cosulet
jewellery designer
Diana Rotaru
composer
Performed by Duo Cello JAYA
Ella Bokor - cello
Mircea Marian - cello
Art, music especially, inspires and oftentimes determines.
From my subjective perspective, this musical piece – Lut by ConnectArts – Duo Cello Jaya – Diana Rotaru – gives me the feeling of a struggle; of ups and downs, of birth and journey.
Sounds are finding palpable correspondences here. They are touching the soul in a subtle but direct way, and I wish the same thing to happen with my personal finger-wings approach of the idea of struggle. The struggle of the soul to come to the surface, to express its uniqueness. To express itself on its own terms, without taking grounded rules into consideration.
The struggle of fulfilling intimate desires, to reach certain heights. The struggle to cross borders, to step further, and further. The struggle of shaping precious dreams into reality.
The struggle of realising the simple truth of already having wings to fly inside of us.
SI
Sandra Kocjančič
jewellery designer
Helena Vidic Lesjak
composer
Lan Meden - saxophone
Jan Sever - piano
Where stars bow to earth and wind speaks in silence, Arcturus shines – a pulse in the night sky.
Each tone: a thread from ancient times.
Each breath: a whisper of bonds beyond space, woven through time.
In my hands, a worn piece of knitting –
not just wool, but memory. A bridge. A knot between worlds.
In Istria, where stones speak and forests guard the fire’s echo, the instrument becomes magic –
melody not written, but felt.
She knitted not for warmth, but for connection.
Each thread a spell. Each loop a link.
So I play – not notes, but stories.
Not rhythm, but remembrance.
Lit by Arcturus. Guided by her hands.
And if you truly listen,
you may find you, too.
SK
Blanka Cepková
jewellery designer
Peter Gulas
composer
For this piece Cembalum, I was inspired by the sound and form of a historical musical instrument – the harpsichord. Although today the harpsichord is primarily associated with the performance of Baroque and Renaissance music, its use in contemporary composition remains rare. This rarity led me to the unconventional work Variations for Harpsichord by composer Peter Gulas, which became the conceptual basis of my artistic response.
The harpsichord produces a wide acoustic spectrum, characterised by metallic tones. These tonal qualities resonate with the materials used in my jewellery, particularly the metal threads. The structure of the musical composition, with its evolving dynamics and emotional intensity, is reflected in the braiding and stitching techniques I employed. The chosen contrasting colour palette serves as a visual counterpart to the musical tension within the piece, its dynamism expressed through a carefully crafted colour gradient.
Finally, the overall form of the jewellery is a stylised interpretation of the graceful contours of the historical harpsichord, embodying both its elegance and cultural resonance.
SK
Karin Šusteková
jewellery designer
Marian Lejava
composer
Peter Šesták, Peter Vrbinčík - viola
Jozef Lupták, Eugen Prochác - cello
Nora Skuta - piano
I chose the music piece of Marian Lejava because it speaks to something deep within me. I couldn’t quite tell, if it was feeling of the soul that stirs when sound becomes more than just vibration. His compositions don’t merely fill silence, instead they awaken it. There’s a chaotic energy in his music that mirrors the creative impulse I feel in my own craft. I’m drawn to textures, different kinds of surfaces and structures. In the composition, especially the violin, in its scraping and singing, reminds me of my tools shaping metal. One moment, the bow is cutting the sound into pieces, the next the music changes it feels like file scraping and scratching the metal. The music resonates with my hands, as if they too are playing along, sculpting sound the way they sculpt metal. Though music and goldsmithing are distinct arts, they share the act of transformation. From silence or raw material, something lasting is born. It’s remembering that creating is an act of breathing life into matter, whether with a bow or a torch.
SK
Karol Weisslechner
jewellery designer
Ivan Buffa
composer
Ivan Buffa - Tvorivý duch / Creative Spirit (2014)
2019-06-29 (live recording)
Small Concert Hall of Slovak Radio, Bratislava, Slovakia
Quasars Ensemble
Ivan Buffa, conductor
Concentration, a clearing of a throat and a brief cough in the hall... Silence The conductor's baton levitates in the light beam A deep breath and the dance of the conductor's extended arm, like a painter, writes its lines in space Dynamic, light and with quick gestures, clashing highs, dramatic lows, and yet almost weightless, the choreography of tones dances Pearls and gems of tones that create a cosmic film in the mind like flashes of lightning, on the highways of the synapses, new worlds arise Subtleties of composition speak of the roots of trees whose crowns are broad and incomprehensible, like the chirping of birds in the wind, like the fluttering of butterflies in the stillness of the sun-drenched air Under the spell of the creative spirit, architectures emerge in flashes of light, in coloured dots and lines, imaginary spaces arise.
And now? Finding a form, this is the fascination of transformation, of the barely comprehensible tonal composition into the world of visual art, of the haptic object, of architecture, of creating a project in the landscape of the body.
It was precisely this path that was the great challenge of the theme of Design Without Borders in 2025 for me That's why I chose this composition CREATIVE SPIRIT by Ivan Buffa I hope it succeeds.
Click on the images / Kattints a képre
COMPOSERS / ZENESZERZŐK
Viola Falb (AT), Martin Brunner (CZ), Bolcsó Bálint (HU)
Gryllus Daniel - Gryllus Samu (HU), Mihalicza Csenge (HU), Kedves Csanád (HU), Sándor László (HU), Szőcs Márton (HU), Diana Rotaru (RO), Marcin Stańczyk (PL), Tomasz Skweres (PL), Helena Vidic Lesjak (SI), Ivan Buffa (SK), Péter Guľas (SK), Matej Sloboda (SK)
VENUE / HELYSZÍN
ENGLISH
The Design Without Borders exhibition is presented in one of Budapest's most unique and atmospheric exhibition spaces: the former Church Hall of the Kiscell Museum. The encounter between the building's sacred architectural character and contemporary artistic practice creates an exceptional experience for visitors. Alongside the exhibition, audiences can also explore the museum's temporary exhibitions and accompanying public programmes.
The Kiscell Museum presents the history of Budapest and its inhabitants from the eighteenth century to the present day, offering insight into the constantly evolving life of one of Central Europe's most fascinating capitals. Through its rich collections, visitors can discover the city's distinctive cultural identity and layered history, whether they are exploring Budapest for the first time or returning with long-standing familiarity.
HUNGARIAN
A Határtalan Design / Design Without Borders kiállítás Budapest egyik legkülönlegesebb atmoszférájú helyszínén, a Kiscelli Múzeum egykori templomterében várja látogatóit. A szakrális építészeti tér és a kortárs művészet találkozása egyedülálló kiállítási élményt teremt. A rendezvény mellett a múzeum további időszaki kiállításai és gazdag kísérőprogramja is látogatható.
A Kiscelli Múzeum a 18. századtól napjainkig mutatja be Budapest és lakóinak történetét, érzékletes képet adva Közép-Európa egyik legizgalmasabb városának folyamatosan változó életéről. Sokszínű gyűjteményei révén a látogatók a magyar főváros sajátos szellemiségét és kulturális rétegzettségét fedezhetik fel – akár először járnak Budapesten, akár régóta ismerik a várost.
CONTACT / KAPCSOLAT: designwithoutborderseu@gmail.com
IMPRESSUM / NÉVJEGY