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April Issue 2003
McGregor Downs Fine Art Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Features Works by Leslie von Pongrácz
by Patricia Darcey
Early in the last century, a six-year-old boy in his native Hungary, ran home from school, excited to show his mother his first painting. Showered with praise from a loving parent, he watched as she carefully placed it in a little gold frame. This early recollection, from the memory archives of world-renowned painter and designer, László Rudolf Istvan (Leslie) von Pongrácz, describes his first work ... a landscape. "I can remember it well," the soft-spoken artist muses. "It was a valley with pine trees. There were rabbits, too." He modestly adds that rabbits were elemental for the young artist, "because I made them with a few circles and then put the ears on."
Even at the age of 6, the fires of creative passion burned in the soul of this artist. They would not - could not - be quelled: not by his Hungarian nobility birthright which meant a scripted life of privilege; nor by the military academy to which he was sent during his high school years. "I hated it," he matter-of-factly recalls, but it "was prearranged for me because of my family heritage." Instead, the fires only intensified, eventually making his work much-sought-after by governments, kings, and the common man. And in the process, making him a global treasure.
Born and raised in Hungary as a member of Hungarian nobility, Mr. von Pongrácz studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest, earning an MFA degree. He went on to earn memberships in professional artists' associations around the world, including the Quatro Centennario de Sao Paulo in Brazil and the German Berufsverband Bildender Künstler. After World War II, he emigrated from Hungary, establishing himself in Bavaria where he exhibited in Garmisch, Oberammergau, and Munich. He traveled to study art and design in every corner of the world and reverently speaks of Michelangelo as the single artist whose works he most admires. "There are no words to describe his greatness," he says.
Mr. von Pongrácz's portfolio consists of paintings in all media, including murals, frescoes, secco and sgraffito, the latter being a multifaceted and sophisticated artform using several layers of stucco in different colors and cutting into the base to reveal the image in the mind of the artist.
His list of credits - seemingly endless - includes his works represented in corporate, private, and ecclesiastic collections in Brazil, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Mexico, the Vatican and the United States. His diversity also extends to landscapes he was commissioned to paint on the walls of a Sears Roebuck store in Boston and a commission by the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut to restore a series of large paintings of ships. He has also been commissioned to paint portraits in all media.
"Art is the outcome of intellectually-based creativity," the artist says, reinforcing his closely held philosophy that an artist must combine creative passion with technical knowledge. Laszlo Rudolf Istvan von Pongrácz adds that in order to be considered "good," art must be grounded in the intellect. "Art should be appreciated for its color and composition, as well as its creativity," he says, revealing his wonderful wit, which he punctuates with a wink, and adds, "Not because it matches the sofa."
McGregor Downs Fine Art Gallery in Charlotte, NC, is featuring an exhibition of works by Leslie von Pongracz through Apr. 30, 2003.
For more info check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/333-6699 or at (www.mdgallery.homestead.com).
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