The Common Colors and Lights of Two Worlds
The Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca, a cultural institution operating under the Cluj County Council, invites the public to visit, from July 23 to August 9, 2026, the exhibition "The Common Colors and Lights of Two Worlds", which brings together works by artists Ferenczy Júlia and Gy. Szabó Béla. Curator: Ferenczy Miklós. The opening will take place on Thursday, July 23, 2026, from 5:00 PM. The exhibition is organized by Fuhrmann Ferenczy Anna and Ferenczy Miklós, the legal successors of the artists.
Gy. Szabó Béla was born in Alba Iulia and completed his secondary education there. His artistic talent was recognized at an early age by his drawing teacher, Jenő Reithofer (a student of Bertalan Székely), who guided him during his formative years. In 1923 he moved to Budapest, where he enrolled at the Polytechnic University, graduating in 1927 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He held his first exhibition in December 1932, encouraged by Károly Kós, as part of an event organized by the Gáspár Károlyi Society. Between 1969 and 1971 he undertook several study and research trips to the Balaton region in Hungary together with Júlia Ferenczy, with whom he later organized twenty-two joint exhibitions. During this period, he also held an exhibition in Vienna. In 1971 he was awarded the First Class Order of Cultural Merit, and the following year obtained permission to undertake a study trip to Mexico. He passed away in Cluj in 1985 at the age of eighty.
Júlia Ferenczy studied fine arts in Cluj and Timișoara, where she was taught by Sándor Papp, Romul Ladea, and Gy. Szabó Béla. In 1996 she was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in recognition of her outstanding artistic achievements. From 1939 onward, she regularly participated in exhibitions organized by the young artists of the Barabás Miklós Guild. Her first solo exhibition was held in Cluj in 1947, and in 1971 she presented a solo exhibition at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. Her works are included in the collections of the Hungarian National Gallery as well as in several museums throughout Transylvania. Ferenczy devoted much of her work to pastel painting, creating landscapes and urban views inspired by Cluj, Baia Mare, Székely Land, and the Lake Balaton region. During her stays at Balaton, she worked alongside Gy. Szabó Béla. In 1941 she received a scholarship from the Hungarian Ministry of Religion and Public Education.
Between 1946 and 1948 she collaborated with the Cluj-based magazine Képesújság, and from 1948 to 1953 she served as art editor of the magazine Dolgozó Nő (Working Woman). During the 1950s she illustrated numerous children's and young adult books, while her drawings were also published in the journals Utunk and Művelődési Útmutató.
