September 19, 2024 - January 26, 2025
Calculations and Coincidences brings together three pioneers of algorithmic art; Vera Molnár, Dóra Maurer and Gizella Rákóczy through their works from the Hungarian National Bank Collection. The exhibition focuses primarily on the profound influence of Molnar, who was unquestionably among the most significant names in computer art, while tracing how the artistic explorations of Maurer and Rákóczy have expanded the boundaries of abstraction through the integration of algorithms and mathematics.
Vera Molnár began working with computers as early as 1968 and utilized them as a generative tool to create paintings and graphic art, which broadened the frontiers of both science and art. Algorithmic randomness plays a crucial role in her work; order and disorder, structure, and freedom provide important notions in understanding her artistic practice.
In Dóra Maurer’s works there is a strong tendency to systematize; since the early 1970s, Maurer has been exploring the forms and tools of mathematics - which create pure, exact constructions - and of music, especially serial music. Maurer’s work can be characterized by counting and transforming disordered sets into ordered ones.
Rákóczy’s consistent, systematic painting, structure-oriented and serial attitude made her a leading figure in international geometric art. From 1976 onwards, she investigated the behavior and serial possibilities of four-arm spirals using combinatorics. Starting from 1998, the tempera paintings based on the numerical laws of four-arm spirals were replaced by watercolor drawings, in which she began to layer the tonal shades of transparent paint using the formula of the Fibonacci series.
This exhibition not only showcases the individual contributions of each artist but also emphasizes the interconnectedness of their artistic journeys. Accompanying the events taking place within the scope of the events taking place as part of the 2024 Hungarian-Turkish Cultural Year, the exhibition offers an opportunity to witness how Molnár, Maurer and Rákóczy have collectively shaped the landscape of algorithmic art.
Image Credits
Vera Molnár
Fraction, 2010-12
Acrylic on canvas
2 pieces; 50 x 50 cm (each)
Courtesy of the Artist and the Central Bank of Hungary Collection
Vera Molnár
Squaring the Circle, 1962-64
Oil on canvas
110 x 100 cm
Courtesy of the Artist and the Central Bank of Hungary Collection
Gizella Rákóczy
4 Tones of 4 Colours, 2002
Watercolour on paper
5 pieces; 69 x 69 cm (each)
Courtesy of the Artist and the Central Bank of Hungary Collection
Gizella Rákóczy
Bent Spiral, 1987
Tempera on paper
117 x 198,5 cm
Courtesy of the Artist and the Central Bank of Hungary Collection
Dóra Maurer
Complementary Continuum, 2000
Tempera on paper
48 x 61 cm
Courtesy of the Artist and the Central Bank of Hungary Collection
Dóra Maurer
As You Like 12, 1990
Acrylic on wood
2 pieces; 114 x 133 cm
Courtesy of the Artist and the Central Bank of Hungary Collection
3D Virtual Tour
Exhibition Catalogue
Calculations and Coincidences brings together three pioneers of algorithmic art; Vera Molnár, Dóra Maurer and Gizella Rákóczy through their works from the Hungarian National Bank Collection. The exhibition focuses primarily on the profound influence of Molnar, who was unquestionably among the most significant names in computer art, while tracing how the artistic explorations of Maurer and Rákóczy have expanded the boundaries of abstraction through the integration of algorithms and mathematics.
Pera Learning
Parallel to Calculations and Coincidences, the program offers fun and inspiring exhibition tours and workshops for different age groups, both online and face-to-face. It brings algorithms, probability, randomness, and mathematics together with art.
The program offers online and face-to-face workshops for adults who want to experience the content of the Calculations and Coincidences exhibition, which combines algorithms and mathematics with arts through geometric repetitions, computer coding, color combinations and random designs.
Pera Learning offers workshops that combine art, science and entertainment for students and teachers to have a pleasant mid-term break.
Pera Museum presents an exhibition of French artist Félix Ziem, one of the most original landscape painters of the 19th century. The exhibition Wanderer on the Sea of Light presents Ziem as an artist who left his mark on 19th century painting and who is mostly known for his paintings of Istanbul and Venice, where the city and the sea are intertwined. Through the exhibition, we will be sharing detailed information about the artist and the artworks.
Have you noticed the gigantic photo on our façade? Our Cold Front from the Balkans exhibition focuses on different generations of artists and art groups from the Balkan region.
Pera Museum presented a talk on Nicola Lorini’s video installation For All the Time, for All the Sad Stones, bringing together the artists Nicola Lorini, Gülşah Mursaloğlu and Ambiguous Standards Institute to focus on concepts like measuring, calculation, standardisation, time and change.
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday 10:00 - 22:00
Sunday 12:00 - 18:00
The museum is closed on Mondays.
On Wednesdays, the students can
visit the museum free of admission.
Full ticket: 200 TL
Discounted: 100 TL
Groups: 150 TL (minimum 10 people)
