The Euro Foto Art International Association has prepared another exhibition of photographic art for the public in Oradea: this time 87 works by András Ótos, a photographer from Vojvodina, are on display at the Mezey Lajos Gallery in the Castle Exhibition Centre.
Born in Novi Sad in 1963, András Ótos was introduced to the world of photography and filmmaking by his parents when he was still in kindergarten. During his primary education in the former Yugoslavia, he won several first prizes in competitions for amateur filmmakers. In 1984 he became a staff member of the newspaper Magyar Szó, and during the South Slavic wars of the 1990s he photographed in Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo. His war photos have been exhibited in Hungary and France. After the creation of Duna TV, he worked as a correspondent in Serbia. During decades of photojournalism, he photographed many famous personalities, including Pope Francis, Mikhail Gorbachev, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Yasser Arafat. This year he became a member of the Hungarian Photographers’ Society of the Carpathian Basin (KMFT).
István Tóth, photographer, founder-president of the Euro Foto Art International Association and vice-president of the KMFT, welcomed the visitors at the opening of the exhibition on Sunday evening. In his view, the Mezey Lajos Gallery provides a venue for a high-quality exhibition, as it sheds light on what a reportage photograph, or an artistic version of it, should be. “It’s easy to make a photo report, because an event is given, we press a button and the photo is ready, but András Ótos has done much more than that, he has shown what the art of photography really means, the story of the second”, said István Tóth. He added that his work is also enviable, because it reaches places where the average person cannot, and his works speak for themselves.
András Ótos said that he considers the opportunity offered by István Tóth as a birthday present, as he will turn 60 in a month. In two or three years he will celebrate his 40th anniversary of working at Magyar Szó, which will be 80 years old next year. “So these three events are intertwined today in this exhibition,” he stressed.
Árpád Virág, a journalist for Magyar Szó, presented the publications they brought. László Szűcs, head of the Association of Hungarian Journalists in Romania (MÚRE) and editor-in-chief of Újvárad, pointed out that András Ótos is a multiple winner of MÚRE’s Brassai press photography competitions. In his view, a good press photo is also a good artist’s photo, and a good artist’s photo can also convey information. András Ótos drew attention to the exclusivity and contrast in content of his works, as well as to the fact that they reflect historical, political, entertainment and sporting events of the past decades.
The vernissage featured a performance by Dávid Borzási, flute teacher at the Oradea Lyceum of Arts. The solo exhibition is open daily from 16 to 20 August until 10 August and is free of charge.
Antonius Ciucur Losonczi, Bihari Napló
Pictures from the opening:
