Meszlényi Attila (born 2 May 1954 in Budapest) is an ecological writer, painter, animated film director, musician,[1] and composer. His work as a painter and thinker is dominated by the theme of nature and our ambiguous relationship with it.
Attila Meszlényi has lived in seclusion since 2006. He prefers not to exhibit his work, publishing only on the Internet.[2] His more recent works in relation to the ecology topic are available in parts online.
Career
Meszlényi graduated in applied graphic arts from Képző- és Iparművészeti Szakközépiskola (Fine and Applied Arts School) in 1972. Against his parents’ and teachers’ wishes, he did not continue his education as he did not want to move away from everyday life. He also believed that self-education was worth more than institutional education. He spent the following years with various, mostly physical occupations, including time as a baker, a stone sculptor, a decorator, and a plumber. He continued his art activities in his free time and began to turn towards films.
Attila Meszlényi took part in a study called ‘A magyar film formanyelve és közleménye’ about film semiotics in cooperation with László Beke, Özséb Horányi, András Lányi and Róbert Vadas led by Péter Józsa. Spotted by Foky Ottó, he started directing animated films in Pannónia Filmstúdió from 1977 to ’79. He mostly worked on parts of the popular cartoon series ‘Frakk, a macskák réme’,.[3][4]
After the series ended, he began working as a freelance graphic designer. He made covers and illustrations for over two hundred books, drew many slide films, and occasionally took commercial graphic design work orders as well. Since 1980, he is member of Művészeti Alap (Artist Fund) and its successor organisation Magyar Alkotóművészek Országos Egyesülete (National Association of Hungarian Artists).
Due to the instigation of Muray Róbert and Dr. Zoltán Attila, from 1987, he started painting wild birds and mammals of Europe and occasionally other continents, mixing naturalist depiction with various stylistic elements.[citation needed]
In 1990, he founded (and has been leading ever since) the TARON TÁRSASÁG (called Gondolkodókör after 2001). Between 1998 and 2006, he was a regular participant of national exhibitions, fine art biennales. He continues to paint animals and plants, alive and dead, using watercolour or oil. Since 1999, he has been member of the Magyar Vízfestők Társasága (Association of the Hungarian Watercolour Painters).[5] He co-founded the Unikornis fine art group with Péchy Tamás in 2001. Its members: Csíkszentmihályi Róbert sculptor, Nagy Judit gobelin artist, Nemes István painter and graphic artist, Szemadám György fine artist, Péchy Tamás environmentalist and Sárosdy Judit art historian. In recent years, he has mainly been painting and publishing his writings on ecology and art.
Glade at the Forest Edge
Spine on a Drawing Board
Rabbit
Solo exhibitions
1985 Körmend, Batthyány Castle, Hungary
1987 Budapest, Hotel Mercure Buda, Hungary (together with Katalin Nagy)
1988 Körmend, Batthyány Castle, Hungary
1996 Budapest, Írók Boltja, Hungary
1998 Budapest, Természet Stúdió, Hungary (together with Valaczkai Erzsébet)
1998 Brüsszel, Contact Point Hungary, Belgium (together with László Péter)
1999 Budapest, Vigadó Galéria, Hungary (Enteriőr–Miliő)
2014 Sepsiszentgyörgy, Bene Ház, Romania
2014 Keszthely, a Helikon Kastélymúzeum Vadászati Múzeuma, Hungary[6]
Egy természetfestő naplójából [From the Diary of a Wildlife Painter]; Nimród 1998/9
Szponzorok [Sponsors]; Madártávlat 2003/2
A létvédelem [Environmental Protection]; Napút 2003/4
Seattle főnök beszédei [Speeches of Chief Seattle]; Napút 2003/7
Published (musical) compositions
A tenger éneke [Song of the Sea]; Ananda Sounds Edition
(Sheet music) Könnyű darabok gitárra 17. és 18. századi művekből [Easy Pieces for Guitar; 17th and 18th Century Works]; Rózsavölgyi és Társa, Budapest[17]
Recordings
Begone Sweet Night (baroque recorder, musette; with Musica Profana Ensemble)
Puer natus in Betlehem (musette; with Capella Savaria band)
A tenger éneke [Song of the Sea] (baroque recorder; with István Kozma and Zsolt Szabó)
Further reading
Tamás Márok: Egy szabálytalan természetfestő. Meszlényi Attila arcképe [An Irregular Wildlife Painter. Portrait of Attila Meszlenyi]; Nimród, 1999/3
Egy festőművész gondolatai a természetről, festészetről. (A festővel beszélgetett Péchy Tamás)[A Painter's Thoughts about Nature, Painting. The Painter Interviewed by Tamás Péchy]; Madártávlat, 1999/5. 9.p.[18]
Erzsébet Valaczkai: Meszlényi Attila. Vadgazda, 2003/5
János Szarka: A Meszlényi-féle aszú... a királyok bora! [The Meszlényi Nectar… Savoury of theKings!]; Magyar Vadászlap, 2006/9, 574-575.p.[19]
Katalin Keserü: Foreword for the catalogue of the XVII. National Drawing Biennale; Dobó István Vármúzeum, Eger 2000
Katalin Benedek: Foreword for the catalogue of the XVIII. National Drawing Biennale; Dobó István Vármúzeum, Eger 2002
Ernő P. Szabó: Foreword for the catalogue of the XIX. National Drawing Biennale; Dobó István Vármúzeum, Eger 2004
Tamás Vásárhelyi: Az unikornisról. [About the Unicorn]; Élet és irodalom, 2003. április 25.
Judit Sárosdy: Legendás valóság. Az Unikornis csoport kiállítása [Legendary Reality. Exhibition of the Unikornis Group]; Új Művészet, 2004/11
Lajos Szakolczay: A szép törhetetlensége. Az Unikornis Csoport kiállítása a Karinthy Szalonban [Infrangibility of Beauty.Exhibition of the Unikornis Groupinthe Karinthy Salon]; Mai Magyar Kultúra, 2005/4