Biography of Andrusko Karoly
Although the age of sixty doesn't mean any special merit, it should rather be considered as luck - taking into the account the ups and downs of our age - as a gift of fate, with which one can economise equally well or badly, still in some cases it should be mentioned and remembered. One can waste sixty years, but it can be multiplied if one lives wisely, if one does not only want to get but also to give. If we consider the human, professional and artistic career in the case of Karoly Andrusko the rising of his is obvious.
If one often visits Karoly Andrusko, the painter from Senta at his home or studio, one always finds the same picture: lino-cuts, wook-cuts, rollers, brushes, chisels, sketches, canveses, books and portfolios. He spends all his free time working in the studio.
For fifteen years he has cultivated the branch of fine arts which requires a lot of persistence and love for chisels and printing blocks. What is needed for a painter, then a day-labourer not only at home, but also abroad to become a well-known graphic artist? The above mentioned and very rich creative imagination.
Of course it is not important to present a course of life - luckily not yet finished - to present every tiny detail of his artistic activity - although it is almost inevitable - but to present his universality.
He started publishing his lino- and wood-cuts in 1967. The first is a porfolio called Navvy-Life - Barbaric-Life (Kubikoselet - Baraberelet) which presents the hard life of manual workers on 64 pages. Shortly after, he published Ady: "The song of the street" ("Az utca eneke"), an illustration of hte poem in 8 cuts.
His black and white scenes are strictly composed, and are characterized by concise shapes, and by the economization with space, so that their symbolic simplicity remind us of the conciseness of the epigrams.
He prepared a portfolio for the 12th World Congress of Ex Libris which was held in Como, Italy, in 1968. In 1969 he published in Senta a series consisting of 21 coloured cuts called "Ex libris geographicis" ("Ex Libris Geographicis"), and another 32 cuts series "Ex libris from Senta" ("Zentai ex librisek"). Klaus Rodel, a Danish publisher published his series with motives taken from Danish sscenery called: "Anmark 23 topografiske ex libris af Karoly Andrusko Jugoslawien". The Frederikshavns Avis of June 7th, 1969, wrote about him: "... the graphics of a Yugoslav artist, who had never been in Danmark, still his graphics are full of Danish motives.
In 1970 he published 20 cuts with poetic effects called "The Tisza" ("Tisza Exlibriseken"), and a series which is different from his concise style, called "The willow trees" (Fuzfak). He had again a very fertile year because he finished "The periphery" ("Periferia"), 12 three-coloured cuts, and a series called "The flood" ("Az Arviz"), which presents the great dangeour and destruction, and is full of dramatic motives.
His work is also characterised by portrait graphics. He made the portraits of Yugoslav and Hungarian writers. The variety of his motives is proved by the 15 cuts, under the title "Thrush" ("Turdus Rigok"), and the 17 cuts called "The snowstorm" ("Hovihar") and by the "Olympics" series ("Olimpia"), which begins with the Olympic Games in 1896 and represents the olympic towns with their specific symbols, and by "Adorjan on sunday afternoon" ("Adorjani vasarnap delutan"). It is even difficult to mention everything that Andrusko had created.
His graphics are full of tired old people, standing-about country women, hard-working workers with their sweltering bodies, and then there is the provincial town, with the atmosphere of its streets, the banks of the Tisza with a lot of willow trees.
The artist makes a difference between the publications when unlimited number of copies can be printed and the portfolio. The latter is done with hand-printing in limited number of copies.
It is strange but true: Karoly Andrusko became known abroad earlier than at his home in Vojvodina. The sentimentalless optimism of his lino-cuts and his expressive colorful paintings were praised. His exlibris became famous all over Europe in a short time.
In 1971 he continued his work on small-graphics and he surprised the book-lovers and miniature-book collectors. He published his first miniature book of fine arts with small-graphics called "Senta" (miniatures). Printed in two hundred copies with hand-printing this small-sized book contains 28 32x41 mm cuts. Encouraged by its success, in November 1971, he promised to make a 20x30 mm small-sized book. He kept his promise and published the micro version of "Senta" (miniatures). Later he returned to his usual form of 30x40 mm small-sized books, although in the summer of 1972 another small-sized of 10x11 mm was published. Then some books of size 3-4-5 cm followed, and in May 1973 he amazed the small-size book lovers with an alomost unbelievably small book of 7x8 mm called "The navvy" (Kubikos), with original wood-cuts.
Now, 23 books of his are in circulation and owned by mini-book collectors.
His small-sized books with his tiny graphics are also important. These are not only bibliophile rarities but valuable graphics too, in which the perfect graphical process is praised.
"I lilke the practical advantage of miniature-books. With its small size it can reach a person everywhere in the world.
I have always wanted my books to be near the man. That has been my main aim. With my way of expression not to pass the limit of easy to understand style. It does not mean that I do things which are required by the public. I cultivate only what I like. It is probably because I have no model. I have chosen my own way: as a self-educated man I had to develop myself" - says the artist about himself.
We could not list all the works by Andrusko. We only have to mention: He had 40 exibitions, and took part on 60 collective shows in Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Poland, Soviet Union, Rumania, Danmark and South-African Republic. He also had exibitions beside the above mentioned, about which he did not know.
Helmer Fogedgaard, a Danish critic wrote about him: "He creates with extremely picturesque effects, he is an artist, whose value is enduring".