Zsuzsa Szikra is a Hungarian painter whose works are marked by their poetic abstract character. She is also well known for her portraits. Zsuzsa Szikra is a member of the Association of Hungarian Creative Artists, in Hungarian Magyar Alkotóművészek Országos Egyesülete – MAOE.
Artist life
Zsuzsa Szikra was born in 1951 in the Szechenyi castle which served as a hospital and which was situated in the town of Marcali in Hungary. Already at an early age Zsuzsa was influenced by the paintings and other forms of art her father made. The talents of her father, Janos Szikra, reached from making portraits to landscape painting, and to making stage decors for theatre productions. During her childhood Zsuzsa spend her summer holidays with her grandmother on the shores of Lake Balaton in Hungary. Ilona Takats was a talented poet and architect and had extensive contacts with the Hungarian writers of her time. Through this grandmother Zsuzsa met Gyula Illyes the famous Hungarian writer. His books and the personal talks she had with Gyula Illyes influenced her later works of art. Zsuzsa and her grandmother made long boat trips on the lake Balaton which made a lasting impression on Zsuzsa and are reflected in her art. Following her creative instincts Zsuzsa went to a special art high school in Pécs, the Pécsi Művészeti Gimnázium és Szakközépiskola. At this high school she came in contact with the works of Victor Servranckx, whose style was influenced by cubism and constructivism. After high school she got an entry to Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem in Hungarian, in Budapest. Here she studied under Simon Sarkantyu and the famous Jeno Barcsay who made the "Anatomy For Artists", which has been translated into over fifty languages. Zsuzsa Szikra studied together with Tamás Vilmos Kovács, Mária Mihályfi, Janos Kalmar and Zsuzsa Lics.
Like Viktor Vasarely, a Hungarian French painter, Zsuzsa Szikra was schooled at a Pécs high school and later at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem in Hungarian. Both painters have abstract geometrical works being the art of Szikra Zsuzsa more poetical.
Exhibitions
1977 Berlin
1978 Salgotarjan, Tavaszi Tárlat, Hungary
1979 Budapest, Mücsarnok Studio 79 and Pecs, Pécsi Galéria, Pécsi Művészetiből indultak, Hungary
1980 Szentendre, Vajda Lajos Studio, Hungary
1981 Szekszárd, Babits Mihály competition, Babits-pályázat, Szekszárd, Hungary
Art trip to Paris and Rome And Florence, Venice, 1977
Art trip to St. Petersburg Hermitage and Moscow, 1976
Art trip to Madrid 1980
Art trips to London 1986–2000
Illustrated Books
Timmermans, Peter & Szikra Zsuzsa: Een leven aan de Antwerpse haven : Beer Struyf / PeterTimmermans ; with drawings from Zsuzsa Szikra. Ljubljana : His Story, 1996.
Sponselee, George & Zsuzsa Szikra: Zou 't beter zijn, 't zou niet deugen. With drawings from Zsuzsa Szikra 1989.
Sponselee, George & Zsuzsa Szikra: Katrien, een verhaal uit het Zeeuws-Vlaamse land. Hulst, 1997 with drawings from Zsuzsa Szikra
Sponselee George & Szikra Zsuzsa: Frida, Een verhaal uit het Zeeuws-Vlaamse land. With drawings from Zsuzsa Szikra. 1992
Zsuzsa Szikra: Poetic Mind, A Journey Through Colors. 45 poetic abstract paintings by Zsuzsa Szikra/ text Philip Sparks. Liszt Press, 2010.