The temporary exhibition “I Write a Poem as It Comes” – Structural Games, Constructions. Constructive Games, Structures is open to visitors until 15 May 2026.
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The Historical Photography and Interview Collection of the National Széchényi Library presents an exhibition by photo artist Tamás Féner titled “I Write a Poem as It Comes” – Structural Games, Constructions. Constructive Games, Structures, featuring works from the artist’s most recent creative period, spanning 2015 to 2025.
The exhibition can be visited until 15 May 2026.
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Thursday: 10:00–18:00 (ticket office closes at 17:00)
Friday: 9:00–19:00 (ticket office closes at 18:00)
Closed on Mondays and Saturdays
Venue:
National Széchényi Library, Buda Castle, Building F,
7th floor, Chapel Space
(1014 Budapest, Szent György Square 4–5–6) [5]
From the 2010s onward, a striking transformation can be observed in Tamás Féner’s artistic practice. One project idea builds upon another, yet each photographic series also serves as a summary and a conclusion in itself. Alongside the evocation of personal stories and memories, over the past decade Féner has been experimenting with a radically new, abstract, constructive system of shapes. In his photographic compositions, objects and geometric surfaces become montages with symbolic meaning, or become attributes connected to individuals and portraits; at other times, these same forms are transformed into playful elements of pure abstraction. L’art pour l’art, free from expectations.
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The exhibition title, “I Write a Poem as It Comes,” also reflects this sense of spontaneous ease. The quotation originates from a Bulgarian greengrocer who ran his business in Szentkirályi street in the 1970s. Tamás Féner often attaches stories—sometimes humorous anecdotes—to the images he composed, referring to the photographer’s spontaneous and playful creative attitude. The photographs on view were primarily created in the spirit of constructivism and geometric composition. Over time, the black-and-white compositions give way to colourful, playful abstract images. In the entrance area of the exhibition, earlier structural compositions by the artist, created with a similar approach, are also presented, allowing visitors to trace the constructive principles that run throughout Féner’s entire oeuvre.
In addition to the visual content, the photographs are accompanied by illustrative audio material. Excerpts from interviews conducted with Tamás Féner provide insight into the personal memories associated with the images on display. Knowledge of the past ten years is essential for understanding the already completed and processed earlier periods, and it is equally indispensable because visitors encounter an entirely new artistic process.
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Tamás Féner was born in Budapest in 1938. Since the 1960s, he has been a key figure in Hungarian photography. He is a recipient of the Kossuth Prize and the Béla Balázs Prize, and a university lecturer. Féner has been an active participant and eyewitness to the artistic, historical, and political processes of the second half of the twentieth century and has played a significant role in shaping the history of Hungarian photography. His oeuvre up to 2009 was processed by Péter Baki in his major monograph named Féner (Péter Baki: Féner. Hungarian Museum of Photography, Budapest, 2009).
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Tamás Féner has worked in many genres, including press photography, social documentary photography, portraiture, and urban photography. Each genre is governed by different compositional conditions, yet constructive, structural thinking can be found throughout these series as well. The exhibition features outstanding works from the gasworks, Rome, Budapest, and portrait series.
Curator: Katalin Füri
Exhibition staff: Ádám Kovács, Réka Sárközy, Éva Tóth, Szilvia Rebeka Tóth
We warmly welcome all visitors!
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