Between the Plane and the Infinite. Vásárhelyi – Olos
Antal Vásárhelyi’s painting is an art of silence, reflection, and inner order. In his works, the plane is not a simple surface – it is a place where visible reality is transformed, where geometry and symbol meet to open for the viewer the experience of the infinite.
Born in 1950 in Satu Mare and trained in Bucharest (1969–1973), Antal Vásárhelyi built his career beyond the borders of Romania, settling in Hungary in 1979 and living between 1989 and 1999 in Germany, in Nuremberg. He served as president of the Association of Hungarian Engravers and Lithographers and as director of Gallery IX in Budapest, where he organized over 150 exhibitions. His international experiences – in Finland, France, Japan, Italy, Cambodia, Thailand, and many other places – enriched his vision, bringing into his works a balance between tradition and modernity, between spirit and reason.
His career is not limited to painting and graphic art but also includes roles as curator, event organizer, and initiator of major thematic projects (Homage to M. C. Escher, Science in Art – Art in Science), as well as lectures at academic institutions and museums. These experiences reinforced his profile as an artist-reflector, deeply concerned with the subtle connections between art, science, and culture.
The exhibition in Târgu Mureș, entitled Between the Plane and the Infinite, does not restrict itself to presenting his recent creations. It also brings before the public an artistic and symbolic dialogue with Mihai Olos, a close friend and fellow member of his generation. Though the two artists followed different paths, they shared the same pursuit: how optical reality can be transposed into a multidimensional space and reflected onto a pictorial plane.
For Vásárhelyi, this plane becomes a territory of contemplation, where muted colors and geometric lines speak of silence, order, and interiority. For Olos, the same pursuit materializes in modular structures and archetypal symbols, charged with collective memory. Together, these two visions create a common space – a place where art becomes a meeting point between cultures, eras, and sensibilities.
The exhibition is thus both a tribute to the friendship and dialogue between the two artists and an invitation for the public to discover how art can transcend the limits of the material plane and allow one to experience the infinite.
Between the Plane and the Infinite is, ultimately, a visual journey in which geometry becomes poetry and memory turns into a language of silence.
