The Light Art Museum is the latest sensation sweeping through our city, breathing new life into the iconic Hold Street Market Hall. This once bustling marketplace, a hidden gem in the heart of the city, has undergone a magical transformation into a mesmerizing museum dedicated to the art of light. Remarkably, this transformation was achieved without any alterations to the historical structure itself, allowing the original features of the Market Hall to shine through in a new light—literally.
With its original structure, scenery, and atmosphere intact, the museum offers a unique space where light becomes the medium, painting the old market stalls and stone pathways with vibrant colors and shadows. Intrigued by this radical reinvention, my friends and I decided to explore this special attraction over the weekend, eager to witness firsthand how light can redefine space and perception.
Note: This article contains affiliate links. In case you purchase something through one of these links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost for you. Thank you for helping us keep creating the free content on this website!
The Current Exhibition in the Light Art Museum - Superluminal
The Light Art Museum is currently hosting an extraordinary exhibition titled "Superluminal" which runs from 13 September 2023 to 20 May 2024. This unique showcase features the work of more than 40 internationally-recognized artists from across the globe. "Superluminal" aims to explore and present light not only as a fundamental physical and natural phenomenon but also as a pivotal indicator of technological progress and innovation. Through a diverse array of installations, sculptures, and interactive pieces, the exhibition invites visitors to experience the multifaceted nature of light, illuminating its role in art, science, and the technological advancements that shape our world.
How our adventure had begun
Ordering tickets for a visit to the Light Art Museum turned into a thoughtful Christmas gift for our friends. I navigated through the museum's official website to make the purchase, mindful of the fact that weekend visits come at a premium. This online transaction was seamless, allowing for flexibility in choosing our visit's timing—a detail we decided to finalize post-Christmas, adding an element of shared anticipation and decision-making to the gift.
As the holiday season ebbed and the excitement of our upcoming adventure to the Light Art Museum grew, we collectively chose an early morning slot on a weekend for our visit. "Early" in our books translates to 10 a.m., a concession to our collective aversion to greeting the dawn. This timing felt perfect, offering us the chance to immerse ourselves in the museum's offerings without the rush of an early start.
The anticipation built as we awaited confirmation of our exact time slot. Finally, the day arrived, marking the beginning of our adventure. Stepping into the Light Art Museum, we were enveloped in an ambiance of creativity and innovation, a testament to the museum's ability to captivate and inspire. Our experience was a blend of art, friendship, and the joy of shared experiences, making it an unforgettable visit that started with a simple online ticket order.
Stepping into the world of light - Glowing Columns
The first thing you will meet as you step into the museum is György Kepes' red lighted sculpture called the Glowing Columns. This red-lighted sculpture, constructed in 1973, stands as a testament to the fusion of art and technology, embodying the aesthetic innovations sparked by the era's technological advancements. Originally unveiled at the Museum of Science in Boston during Kepes' comprehensive retrospective, the Glowing Columns has since found a prominent place within the Light Art Museum's collection, captivating audiences with its unique design and conceptual depth.
The sculpture's tower-like form, which seems to float in space, suspended from above, draws its inspiration from the humble mechanism of a bread toaster's heating filaments. Kepes was intrigued by the transformation of these wires from yellow to orange to a glowing red, mimicking the process through the sculpture's backlighting. As the rods within the Columns heat up, the surrounding lights dim, creating a dynamic interaction between light and warmth that reverses as the rods cool down. This interplay is further enriched by the installation's thoughtful use of mirrors, placed beneath the chrome-nickel rods, doubling the visual spectacle and intensifying the viewer's spatial experience.
Furthermore, the Glowing Columns' incorporation of rock fragments upon the mirrored surface serves as a poignant reminder of the artist's vision for a harmonious balance between nature and the man-made. This element, symbolic of the unity between the natural world and artificial creations, enriches the narrative of the piece, making it a highlight of the Light Art Museum's collection. The museum, by housing such innovative works, underlines its commitment to showcasing how light can be harnessed as a medium of artistic expression, blurring the boundaries between technology, nature, and art.
Built between 1892 and 1896, the building where the Light Art Museum stands was once a farmers' market.
The Nautilus in the Light Art Museum
We had hardly finished admiring the Glowing Columns when we saw the Nautilus spinning right next to it, which is groundbreaking piece that challenges the conventional boundaries of sculpture and kinetic art.
This monumental piece consists of a large, round disk, delicately suspended from the ceiling by a single, slender cable wire. Its unique design is further accentuated by ball chains that gracefully drip along its perimeter, cascading down in mesmerizing lengths. But the true magic of Nautilus is in its motion: a gentle, reverent rotation that carries the observer through a kaleidoscope of optical illusions. The disk turns slowly, clockwise at first, then pauses, as if taking a breath, before it reverses its direction, each movement meticulously choreographed to inspire wonder and awe.
As one stands beneath this celestial body, the Light Art Museum transforms into a sanctuary of light and shadow. The sculpture, entirely transparent and shaped solely by the forces of gravity, becomes a living entity. Its internal light, subtle yet profound, bathes the space in a soft glow, casting intricate patterns that dance along the walls and floor. The movement of Nautilus, coupled with the delicate fall of the ball chains, creates a symphony of overlapping scenes that evolve and dissolve into one another, each new shape a testament to the fluidity of form and the power of light.
This installation does more than just illuminate the space; it invokes a deep, resonant feeling of presence through its vibration and movement. Visitors to the Light Art Museum are often found standing in silence, lost in the spectacle, as Nautilus weaves its silent narrative. It's a meditation on the intersection of art and emotion, where the viewer becomes an integral part of the exhibit, moving in harmony with the sculpture's gentle sway. In this moment, Nautilus achieves its highest purpose, transcending the boundaries of traditional art to become an immersive experience—a beacon of light and innovation in the world of contemporary art.
Counterfactual Counterprojections by Áron Kútvölgyi-Szabó
In a world where art often transcends the boundaries of traditional mediums, the work of Áron Kútvölgyi-Szabó emerges as a beacon of innovation and sensory exploration. It was within the hallowed walls of the Light Art Museum where I first encountered his mesmerizing installation—a simultaneous two-channel video projection that effortlessly unfolded like a living, breathing canvas before my eyes. This masterpiece, showcased in the Light Art Museum, is a testament to the transformative power of light and shadow, creating an immersive experience that dances on the delicate line between the digital and the analog.
Kútvölgyi-Szabó's installation is nothing short of a poetic journey through space and time, where pictorial constellations give rise to special formal and associative variations. At moments, these images harmoniously rhyme, while at others, they daringly interfere, creating a symphony of visual complexity. This interaction is not just a feast for the eyes but a profound exploration of how light and projected imagery can alter our perception of space itself. The Light Art Museum, by embracing such an installation, emphasizes its commitment to showcasing how art can evolve and influence our understanding of the world around us.
The semantic layers of this work are intricately woven around the interplay between the spatial and the pictorial, achieved through a series of medial transformations and perspectival distortions. This digital dreamscape is enhanced by an analog interference—the very shape of the projection surface itself casts shadows that weave into the narrative, demonstrating the duality of images as carriers of information and as entities capable of obscuring reality. This installation challenges the traditional mono-perspective, inviting viewers to navigate the space, shifting their viewpoints to uncover different visual fragments and, in doing so, piecing together the entirety of the pictorial and spatial scene.
Encountering Áron Kútvölgyi-Szabó's work at the Light Art Museum was a profoundly moving experience that lingered long after leaving the exhibition space. It was a reminder of the boundless possibilities of artistic expression and the profound impact of viewing art in such a uniquely immersive environment. The Light Art Museum, through such exhibitions, continues to be a sanctuary for those seeking to experience the cutting edge of contemporary art, where light and shadow play in endless harmony, revealing the unseen and challenging our perceptions.
Site location: Budapest, Hold u. 13, 1054
GPS coordinates: 47.504822, 19.052466
Google Photos: Click here
For more content and exciting articles, follow our site, where we regularly update our column to bring you the best ideas for events or things to do in Budapest!
