Bela Löffler

* April 16, 1906, Košice - † February 11, 1990, Košice / One of the most significant sculptors of Košice ; ; He learned stone carving from Welimsky in Prague, and in 1932 he continued his studies in the workshop of Medgyessy and Vilt in Budapest. He made study trips to Paris and Italy (1936-38). From 1938 he lived in Košice with minor interruptions. He was a member of the Kazinczy Society. In the 60s he also worked on restoration (e.g. Košice Cathedral). 1978: Merited Artist. He developed his "lyrical cubism" based on the avant-garde sculpture of the 20s. He worked with various materials (metal, bone, glass, stone). ; He traveled to Greece, Italy, France, and later studied in Budapest and Prague. But he returned to Košice and continued his work here. His first exhibition was in 1937 in the Košice museum. The Rákóczi relief on the wall of the Košice cathedral is his work. We can find his public sculptures and reliefs all over Eastern Slovakia. Since he had no successor, he designated the city as his heir, but with the wish that a Löffler museum would be established from his legacy, whose mission would also be to support young artists. This finally came true in 1993. Löffler left a collection worth several million crowns to the city, which served as the basis for the museum – or rather gallery. The collection includes his works, as well as paintings and self-portraits by artists working in the region. Béla Löffler's multilingual library also became part of the gallery. He was a European-minded man. He maintained constant contact with local artists, as well as Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, and Romanians. He respected the European values and lived in accordance with them. ; Löffler was very active in supporting young artists who created in the region. Many of them studied and worked with him for months and years. For example, István Filep, György Ferenc and many others. But he did not only support his students. He encouraged many to paint self-portraits, which he then bought from them. There is a painter who painted three or four self-portraits for Löffler for a few hundred crowns. ; ; Solo exhibitions: ; 1937 • Museum of Eastern Slovakia [with František Bydlo], Košice ; 1959 • Rožňov • Királyhelmec [with Lajos Feld] ; 1960, 1963 • Prague ; 1966 • Prešov ; 1967 • Toronto ; 1971 • Rozsnyó, Stósz ; 1974 • DMM, Komárom ; 1981 • Prešov District Museum ; 1981 • Jubilee exhibition, Košice ; 1983 • Budapest • Miskolc ; ; Selected group exhibitions: ; 1946-80 • Košice and Slovak art exhibitions, Košice, Bratislava ; 1991 • In time and space - Hungarian sculptors in Czechoslovakia, Duna Gallery, Budapest ; ; Works in public collections: ; Déri Museum, Debrecen • Košice has had its own memorial museum since 1993 • Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest. ; ; Public works: ; Saint Stephen's main altar (wood, 1940, Roman Catholic church in Tiszalúc) ; World War and heroic monuments (Nagyida, Kuntapolca, Margitfalva, Rozsnyó, Dobsina, Pelsőc); Unknown soldier (1948, Košice); Mother with child (1975, Igló); Tomb of Zoltán Fábry (1971, Stósz)