The exhibition was funded in part by The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and The County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.
The exhibition was organized by Mingei International as the first major West Coast presentation of Joseph Domjan’s work. HUNGARIAN FOLK MAGIC was taken from Mingei International’s collection and from the Domjan family collection.
A master of woodblock printmaking who drew many of his lavishly portrayed subjects from Hungarian history and folklore, Joseph Domjan began his career as a painter, making his first woodcut in 1947. Often instead of printer’s ink, Domjan used oil paint on his woodcuts. With this new technique, he applied many layers of rich color to create paintings with woodcuts.
Domjan’s art found expression in several media. His lacy, folklore-inspired designs were executed by the Royal Tapestry Workshops in Madrid and at Aubusson in France. Ten of these tapestries were on view as were six of his double-sided woodblocks. There were also two doors, painted by Domjan’s talented wife and collaborator Evelyn, and selected objects from the Museum’s worldwide collection that revealed the universality of Domjan’s folklore themes
Playing during the exhibition was a DVD, produced by Mingei International Museum, in which Evelyn Domjan told the story of her husband’s work.
Exhibition enhancement events included a lecture, “Domjan 100: József Domján Centennial Celebrations in Hungary” by Kalman Magyar, Director of The American Hungarian Museum, Passaic, New Jersey and The József Domján Foundation, Hungary on Sunday, March 2, 2008 and a Curator’s Walk-through with guest curator Joyce Corbett on Sunday, April 13, 2008. Artist craftsman Igor Koutsenko presented a demonstration, the Craft of Woodblock Printing, on Sunday, March 16, 2008. A lecture, “Magyars Among Us: Hungarian Expatriate Artists in the U.S.,” was presented by Dr. Lilla Szábo, curator at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, on Thursday, May 22, 2008. Experience Hungary: A Morning of Family Fun took place on Saturday, June 28, 2008.