George Baloghy

George Baloghy was born in Budapest in 1950 and emigrated as a child refugee to New Zealand in 1957. While studying for his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Elam in Auckland, Baloghy regularly wandered the streets of central Auckland taking pictures of building facades with a borrowed camera.

Baloghy’s interest in the city and suburbia has continued throughout his career, and his depictions of city landscapes, often painted with a quirky and ironic eye, can be considered synonymous with Auckland’s visual identity. His works often include pastiches and art historical references to artists such as Canaletto, a painter who also “chronicled” his city. Baloghy’s paintings feature a quiet humour and focus on all details of the landscape, from the spectacular to the mundane. 

Baloghy’s realism is unique in that it is not a photographic likeness, but as he himself describes it, an “enhanced realism”. The distant details are sharper than they appear in real life, with the overall effect being slightly disconcerting. This is achieved by the subtle editing of elements within the composition, so that distant hills might be brought closer, or the middle distance completely erased. Nevertheless the scenes essentially remain faithful to real life and are usually instantly recognizable. George Baloghy’s scrupulous attention to detail challenges the viewer to engage with and explore the paintings, rather than merely glancing at mimetic reproductions of the landscape.

Baloghy has been represented at ARTIS Gallery since 1993.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS AT ARTIS

2020 – Colonial Dreaming, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2017 – Capt.Cook – A Fake History, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2015 – City, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2013 – Magic City, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2012 – Reviving, Artis Gallery Auckland
2010 – Picasso in Auckland, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2008 – Drive-by Art: A Personal Odyssey, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2006 – Mt Eden Paintings, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2004 – Parnell Paintings, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2003 – Arcadia/Antipodea, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2001 – The Artist in the Landscape-Hahei, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2000 – Auckland Panoramas, Artis Gallery, Auckland
1997 – Auckland Icons, Artis Gallery, Auckland
1996 – Artis Gallery, Auckland
1995 – New Work, Artis Gallery, Auckland
1993 – Artis Gallery, Auckland

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

New Image Catalogue, ACAG 1984, Survey of recent trends in art
Art New Zealand, Issues 3, 11, 19, 22, 25, 39, 55
Contemporary New Zealand Art, Elva Bett, 1986
Kaleidoscope, TVNZ Screened 5 September 1984 and 20 January 1985 on TV1
Metro articles, April 1983 and March 1986
100 New Zealand Artists, Warwick Brown, Godwit Publishing, 1995

ACADEMIC HISTORY

1974-77 Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2020 – Colonial Dreaming, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2017 – Capt.Cook – A Fake History, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2015 – City, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2013 – Magic City, ARTIS Gallery Auckland
2012 – Reviving, Artis Gallery Auckland
2010 – Picasso in Auckland, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2008 – Drive-by Art: A Personal Odyssey, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2006 – Mt Eden Paintings, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2004 – Parnell Paintings, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2003 – Arcadia/Antipodea, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2001 – The Artist in the Landscape-Hahei, Artis Gallery, Auckland
2000 – Auckland Panoramas, Artis Gallery, Auckland
1997 – Auckland Icons, Artis Gallery, Auckland
1996 Artis Gallery, Auckland
1995 – New Work, Artis Gallery, Auckland
1994 – Tinakori Gallery, Wellington
1993 – Artis Gallery, Auckland
1991 – RKS Art Gallery, Auckland
1990 – Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington
1989 – Portfolio Gallery, Auckland
1988 – Portfolio Gallery, Auckland
1985 – Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
1984 – Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
CSA Gallery, for Christchurch Festival
1983 – Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington
1982 – Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland
Hogarth Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1981 – Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland,
Brooke Gifford Gallery, Christchurch
1980 – Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland
1979 – Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland
1978 – First Solo Exhibition, Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
City Gallery, Wellington
Waikato Art Museum, Hamilton
Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch

AWARDS

Winner Tokoroa Art Award 1980
Awarded QEII Arts Council Studio Grant 1982
Awarded QEII Arts Council Travel Grant 1985