Judit Reigl

Reigl studied from 1942 to 1945 at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts near István Szonyi. After studying, she received a scholarship to continue her education in Italy, where the Byzantine icons, the mosaics of Ravenna and the works of Giotto, Masaccio, Giorgione and Titian made a lasting impression. In order to preserve her artistic freedom from communism, Reigl attempts to escape to Western Europe in vain through the Iron Curtain until she finally succeeds in the ninth attempt in 1950. It settles in Paris, where it remains until 1963 and then moves to Marcoussis (Île-de-France). In Paris, Reigl first comes into contact with surrealism, but develops in the direction of lyrical abstraction. Both periods lead to great success in France, the FRG and the USA. Subsequently, Reigl is increasingly concerned with American abstract expressionism and artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline. In 1954 Reigl's first solo exhibition took place in the Galerie l'Étoile Scellée in Paris. Her works can be seen mainly in the collections of French museums such as the Center Pompidou, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Musée de Grenoble.