“Not only did we try to displace reality; reality was no longer in the object. Reality was in the painting.” Pablo Picasso

József Csáky

The Szeged-born sculptor was a student at the School of Applied Arts in Budapest; he then took a job at the Zsolnay (porcelain) factory in Pécs, from which he was dismissed as a person who is “lacking talent.” He then left his job at a Budapest foundry and set out on foot for Paris, where he arrived in 1908. A year later, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants. In 1912, Csáky’s sculpture was featured in the Cubist section of the Salon d’Automne, and from that point on, the artist became a leading figure in the creative revolution of Cubism. The following year, he became a contributor to the journal Montjoie! and joined the circle of Apollinaire and Picasso. His Cubist sculptures were exhibited in London, New York, and at additional exhibitions in Paris. Csáky served as a French citizen in both world wars and never returned to Hungary; however, as a member of KÚT (New Society of Visual Artists), he participated in the society’s exhibition in Budapest.