Laszló SZABÓ

László Szabó lived in Hajdúszoboszló until the age of fourteen, then in Debrecen, where he also graduated from high school. Between 1940 and 1943 he studied law at the University of Debrecen. When he was called up for military service, he decided to escape after a few months. He hid in Balatonföldvár, where he was a lifeguard. He made his way to Switzerland under adventurous circumstances, even swimming across the Rhine at Basel. He became an educator in a camp for persecuted children, and that's when he started carving stones. After the war, he continued his law studies in Geneva and then in Lausanne, after having interrupted them in Debrecen. But his interest turned increasingly to the arts. After his university classes, he spent his time studying paintings and sculptures. In 1947, his first relief painting earned him a scholarship to the Paris Academy of Fine Arts, where he was immediately accepted as a third year student and graduated after a year. He worked as a stonemason on the restoration of the Gothic cathedral of St Peter's in Beauvais. Since he didn't have much money, he lived in the cathedral. He participated in the Salon de la Jeune Sculpture in 1949 and the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1951. From 1950, he lived at 22 rue Delambre in the Montparnasse district, where he created a 'habitable sculpture' in his apartment, which resembled a wheat oven and in which he actually lived. It was here that the Group of Fifteen, a society of young artists, was founded. He was also one of the founders of the artists' community that was organised in his studio, called L'Academie du Feu (The Academy of Fire). Here, artists could not only meet each other, but also organise exhibitions. Among its followers were Etienne Martin's La Demeure (The Dwelling Place) series and Péter Székely's Beg Meil holiday village. Some sources claim that Le Corbusier was influenced by him when he designed Notre Dame du Haut (Ronchamp). In 1953 he spent several months in the north of Cana Show more