Horváth Pal

Pal Horváth was a Hungarian-Belgian artist, born in Szombathely (Hungary) in 1936 and deceased in Belgium in 2025. He was a draughtsman, painter, printmaker and sculptor. He studied at the Higher Polytechnic School and at the School for Decorative Arts in Veszprém. In 1956, he settled in Brussels. He pursued studies in advertising at the Brussels Academy (1957–1958), followed by graphic arts at the Ter Kameren Institute.

He held his first solo exhibition in Brussels in 1972. He designed television title sequences as well as graphic works such as catalogues, posters and logos. He engaged in personal research into image, symbols, and their two- and three-dimensional projections.

His first abstract works date from 1985 and aligned with the Bauhaus spirit and modernism. He developed a unique colour language and was described by critics as a “sculptor of colour”. He collaborated with the Moholy-Nagy Laboratory in Brussels, exploring tensions between two- and three-dimensionality in his work. This led to relief paintings exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in Brussels, the Veranneman Foundation in Kruishoutem, and in France, Germany and Italy.

He quickly received commissions for works integrating art into architecture and the urban environment. In this context, he worked with the Mesure Internationale Group, and later with the MAD Group, active from Paris to Central Europe. His interest in urban interventions led to monumental projects such as an installation in the North Sea (1990), the sculpture Parallèles in the museum of Verviers, and the monumental piece La Boussole on the Boulevard Albert II in Brussels (1997). In 2004, he designed the Cerec Award trophy for the Prométhéa Foundation.

Exhibitions followed in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Hungary and Austria. His work was acquired by the Belgian State in 1978. He is represented in the collection of the Ixelles Museum. He is listed in Twee eeuwen signaturen van Belgische kunstenaars. (Piron)