Annual program 2023

The Ludwig Museum, Budapest, aims to place its annual exhibitions in an interpretive framework. 

In 2023, “care” is the phenomenon that serves as such an interpretive framework for our exhibitions and programmes, encompassing, beyond the strict meaning of the word, solidarity, personal and social responsibility, trust, humanity and altruism. 

András Lengyel: …everything is up in the clouds…
February 3–28 May, 2023

András Lengyel belongs to the second generation of the Hungarian neo-avant-garde. His clouds migrated into the field of reproduced graphics, and then, along with other motifs, into photographs, actions or installations, only to reappear in paintings. These symbols of human knowledge invite their viewers to become part of a tradition through which man has searched for his place in the universe.

Boris Lurie and Wolf Vostell: Art after the Shoah
March 31–July 30, 2023

From the late fifties, both artists were radically engaged in the Shoah. At a time when war was still a taboo, they chose as the subject of their art a confrontation with this painful period. By combining the most shocking images of war crimes with superficial advertising images, their works were also an indictment of a post-war consumer society that had simply restarted, oblivious to the trauma suffered.

Cuteism: Between Abstraction and Figuration
June 23–October 1, 2023

The exhibition presents a current tendency in contemporary painting. The works are assembled in a patchwork-like manner, based on iconic symbols, elements from popular culture and a combination of various artistic styles, approaching global or everyday problems with humour and (self-)irony. Adding a critical tone to the notion of “cuteness,” they encourage the audience to question perfectionism and kitsch mediated by social media.

Handle with Care!
September 8–November 26, 2023

Care as a social metaphor can be interpreted on the personal level or projected onto relationships between people, but also has strong economic dimensions. Furthermore, the concept can also be extended to caring for all living beings and for the Earth itself. In a time of multiple crises, the exhibition explores how to rethink care and, through this, the role of the museum (and art) in this process.

Till Brönner: Identity—Landscape Europe
October 20, 2023–January 28, 2024

Till Brönner is a true trumpet virtuoso and a photographer, whose music and photographs are a convincing expression of the contemporary zeitgeist. In his portraits, natural or industrial landscapes or architecture, he documents and addresses not only the events and social trends in Europe, but also the problems of a world struggling with crises.

Esterházy Art Award Short List 2023
December 15, 2023–March 3, 2024

The international jury of Esterházy Art Award 2023 selects up to 25 artists from the shortlist of the submitted entries to be exhibited at the Ludwig Museum. The prize is awarded every two years, to three artists under 45 years. The accompanying exhibition is a benchmark overview of the young Hungarian art scene.

Time Machine: A New Selection from the Collection of the Ludwig Museum
September 1, 2020–December 31, 2023
The new selection from the museum’s collection is not about the science-fiction possibility of time travel, but examines the relationship between time and art from different perspectives, and sees the works themselves as time machines that allow us to travel mentally.

18th International Venice Architecture Biennale, Hungarian Pavilion
Reziduum—The Frenquency of Architecture
May 20–November 26, 2023

The exhibition revolves around the contemporary ornamental patterns that cover the metal grid structure of the new Ethnographic Museum’s facade, built in Budapest. The interactive exhibition is an exciting all-arts experiment, a sound, light and space installation, that uses contemporary art to make folk tradition accessible.

Press contact: Gabriella Rothman, rothman.gabriella [​at​] ludwigmuseum.hu