Long live the Dictata! – drMáriás retrospective exhibition at Godot Institute.

Dear Reader,

If you have followed the recent period, you will know what remedial exhibitions we have prepared. One such was Imre Bukta the grand showroom, and the Endre Koronczi exhibition – after which the artist won the right to, in 2026, the Venice Fine Arts Biennale hold an exhibition in the Hungarian pavilion

All of these were born within the walls of the Godot Institute, and we are now preparing something extraordinary again: Dr Máriás – under his civil name Béla Máriás – On the occasion of his 60th birthday and the 40th anniversary of the band Tudósok, we invite you to a comprehensive exhibition titled: Long live dictatorship!

In connection with this, soon our pre‑order and community campaign on Branc to support drMáriás's life‑work exhibition and the associated exclusive art album will launch – and it is worth joining already now!

Subscribe:https://www.godot.hu/drmariasfeliratk

If you subscribe to thedrMáriás 60Before the campaign launch we will surprise you with exclusive content for the newsletter: we'll give you a behind‑the‑scenes look, share the most exciting moments of the preparations with you, and we'll also send you a downloadable mini‑publication.

In this small, secret selection drMáriás rewrites the news – only this time from paint, satire and free associations. He twists the world’s affairs – whether global politics or domestic absurdities – in such a way that we smile, then suddenly look inward.

drMáriás: Pope Francis protests against religious fanaticism at Banksy studio

Long live the dictatorship! – drMáriás' retrospective exhibition at the Godot Institute

„Long live the dictatorship!” – Provocation? Question? Or merely a well‑directed joke?

drMáriás, a social masochist and visual provocateur, has for decades held a twisted mirror up to power with the tools of painting, music, prose and performance, and for the first time he will be visible in Budapest – an entirely unprecedented artistic universe that has never before been seen in its entirety. The exhibition opening at Godot Intézet at the start of 2026 is not only unprecedented in its volume but also in its dramatic tone, a tone that has until now been almost unknown to the general public. The previously mainly grotesque and ironic visual language is now complemented by an almost unknown lyrical quality: drMáriás’s so‑called “csipkeképei” accompany the visitor from childhood through the most important moments in the journey to becoming an artist, a kind of personal visual memoir. In the show the oeuvre unfolds in thematic blocks from the Vajdaság underground of the 80‑s to contemporary political satire – from celebrity‑culture figures to power players to cultural icons, all the way to the closing units titled “Orbán-szentély” and “Magyar Péter játszótere.”

drMáriás: Ai Weiwei in a Beijing prison thinks of Warhol.

Béla Máriás is regarded as a key figure in Hungarian contemporary visual art, having created the Dr‑Máriás phenomenon – a pinpoint lens on the widening of the value scale that, in my view, burns itself into the art history that encompasses the first half of the 21st century. – writes Borbála Laczkovich, artistic director and co‑founder of the Godot Institute.

"Long live the dictatorship!" – Are you sure it will live? And are you sure it's a dictatorship?” – asks drMáriás himself, with that characteristic serious playfulness. The exhibition is accompanied by a special, large‑format, exclusive album, which is not only a catalogue of the show but also an independent work of art.

In the book, the essays written for his works let us discover drMáriás’s artistic career from his childhood to the present day, the interpretation of his images, his public and other adventures and scandals. We can see never‑before‑seen early works and the brand‑new images from the last three years, as well as beloved evergreen pieces – the new album contains more than a hundred new images and text. On the accompanying CD, the evergreen hits of the band Tudósok are performed again, re‑orchestrated, in honour of the jubilee.

drMáriás: Bödőcs Tibor wields his genius joke bombs in Banksy's studio.

Join us – for art, too, lives only in community. For a quarter of a century the team at the Godot Institute has been working to bring the fresh, progressive voices of contemporary visual art to everyone – whether it concerns young artists or already established ones. In the last decade we have deliberately turned towards young creators, establishing a gallery and an international residency programme for them, while also giving special focus to the presentation of mature oeuvres. All this so that contemporary art is not only accessible, but also experiential, comprehensible and lovable.

We believe that art does not merely interpret, it sets things in motion – and that requires an audience, it requires a community. That is why we are about to launch the Brancskozosseg.hu campaign, in which you can also take part – not only by supporting, but also by pre‑ordering, participating, or simply being there.

Subscribe to the “drMáriás 60” newsletter to find out first‑hand what we are working on, the new opportunities we offer, and how we are shaping contemporary Hungarian culture together.

Thank you for being with us – and for thinking alongside us!

With best regards: a Godot Institute his team