Mari Gyorgyey is best known for her nonlinear narrative art which flows into book arts, pen and ink drawings, paintings, computer imagery, and fine art etchings. She is not afraid to mix any of the techniques to communicate her theme. Mari’s approach can be described as figurative and expressionistic. Her quirky and satirical drawings has been compared to Philip Evergood, and William Kentridge and the pre-war drawings of George Grosz. Since earning her BFA from RISD, and MFA from UPENN, Gyorgyey has shown her work domestically and internationally with solo shows in Tapio Gyorgy, Hungary, Budapest, Hungary as well as Stamford, CT., U.S.A. She has won printmaking awards from UPENN, Dharma Silk Company, and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, where she is a longtime member.
Some of Gyorgyey’s unorthodox themes are Dogs in Dresses, Tweens in Weight Loss Camp, and uneventful but creepy moments in The Lives of the Romanovs but her new project is the largest and personally most important yet. This current artwork is a multifaceted investigation of her parent’s history, and her Hungarian upbringing in America. It is called Heritage Excavation. Mari investigates the conflicts and harmonies from Hungárián communities in both countries. She explores what it’s like to have two identities vying for dominance. Mari’s work integrates her fine art and textile design background. Her content is strongly influenced by living in communist Hungary, and suburban America. Her portraits have the passion of European Expressionism with the visual superficiality of Technicolor films. Her work seems offbeat…but at closer glance is strangely approachable and empathetic to our human condition.