Koronczi Endre: Kérem, sóhajtson, Széchenyi Úr! Frissítés: A Pneuma Cosmic nyerte a 2026-os Velencei Képzőművészeti Biennálé Magyar Pavilonjának pályázatát- Godot Intézet

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Frissítés: A Pneuma Cosmic nyerte a 2026-os Velencei Képzőművészeti Biennálé Magyar Pavilonjának pályázatát

Full exhibition text

Update: Pneuma Cosmic has won the competition for the Hungarian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale

Koronczi Endre - Godot Institute update - Pneuma Cosmic - Venice Biennale

Koronczi Endre: Please Sigh, Mr Széchenyi!

2024. 02. 23. – 2024. 06. 23.

The exhibition Please Sigh, Mr Széchenyi!, the result of Koronczi Endre’s decades of research and collecting, celebrates the cosmic airflow that connects people with their environment. The exhibition’s central installation is a monumental artwork built from the ventilation system of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Within this building, which has acquired symbolic significance over the course of our history and remains in active use, the components that enable several hundred brilliant scientists to breathe together emerge from their former hiding places to reveal a particular kind of pathway taken by air. Wind and breath become metaphors for the soul in the exhibition, where Koronczi creates sighs and whirlwinds, stirring visitors’ imaginations with actual movements of air. Drawing on the everyday experience of wind, the videos, kinetic installations and graphic works in Please Sigh, Mr Széchényi! bring us the beauty and power of ceaseless, invisible airflow.

Koronczi Endre has been a leading figure in Hungary’s progressive visual arts scene since the ’90s. In 2022, he was awarded the Munkácsy Mihály Prize. In addition to his appearances abroad, he has exhibited at major Hungarian venues including Budapest Gallery, Műcsarnok, Kiscelli Museum, Off-Biennálé, ICA-D, Ludwig Museum, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Ferenczy Museum Centre, MODEM, the Hungarian National Gallery and the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Centre.

Curator: Cserhalmi Luca

Update: Koronczi Endre and Pneuma Cosmic: From the Godot Institute to the Hungarian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale

The decision is now official: the project Pneuma Cosmic will represent Hungary in the Hungarian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. The winning proposal was created by Koronczi Endre and curated by Cserhalmi Luca, curator at the Godot Institute. The concept’s success is not only a credit to its creators but also an endorsement of the workshop-based approach that has been practised at the Godot Institute of Contemporary Art for years.

From incubator to the world stage

Pneuma Cosmic did not emerge from nowhere. The project’s intellectual foundations and experimental phases are closely linked to the Godot Institute’s professional environment. Although Godot is an independent private institution, it takes on responsibilities — supporting research and providing the infrastructure for large-scale installations — that would traditionally fall within the remit of major state museums.

This supportive environment made it possible to realise the exhibition “Please Sigh, Mr Széchenyi!” in 2024, where Koronczi Endre first presented his research into airflow and cosmic spaces as a unified system. The exhibition was curated by Cserhalmi Luca, curator at the Godot Institute, who played a key role in shaping experimental ideas into a coherent biennale project capable of competing internationally.

Why does the Godot Institute’s role at the Venice Biennale matter?

Hungary’s participation in 2026 demonstrates that Godot has become more than just an exhibition space: it is one of the most important creative incubators for Hungarian contemporary art. Its flexibility and progressive outlook provide the support essential to bringing complex projects such as Pneuma Cosmic into being. The presentation in Venice is international recognition of this sustained professional development.

Facts and figures (Summary)

Project title: Pneuma Cosmic

Venue: Venice Biennale 2026, Hungarian Pavilion

Artist: Koronczi Endre

Curator: Cserhalmi Luca, curator at the Godot Institute

Supporting professional institution: Godot Institute of Contemporary Art (Godot Institute)

Koronczi Endre - Godot Institute Pneuma Cosmic - Venice Biennale

Opening

2024. 02. 22. 19:00

Opening speech

Petrányi Zsolt, art historian, Head of the Contemporary Art Collection at the Hungarian National Gallery

Featuring

Bélaműhely, a sound performance on the artworks in the exhibition

Admission to the opening requires a ticket valid for that day.

Opening hours

Tickets are available online and at the venue: https://www.godot.hu/tickets

The admission ticket is also valid for the exhibition “it’s fine – The Helpless Exhibition”, on show at Godot Labor from 1 March.

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