Mara Oláh:

Oláh Mara arcképAn excerpt from the introduction of Mara Olah: 'I was born in 1945 in Monor. My father was a musician; my mother came from a Beas tinker family. I spent my childhood with constant wanderings the two families argued because of their origin and lifestyle differences. We lived in Monor with my mother, or we moved to my maternal grandparents in Mogyor6d. I dropped out of school at sixth grade and I could only finish it when I became a wife. I married to a Hungarian boy at the age of 19. My mother-in-law was so much against the marriage that my mother passed away without meeting her. My daughter was born in 1967. She finished an economic high school and successfully performed at rifle shooting competitions. I have been working nearly all my life as a cleaner, first as a charwoman then as an independent entrepreneur. We built a house then swapped it and moved to Budapest I have had several serious health problems. Despite my obstinate complains the doctor found my tumours late. I had several operations. In a critical phase of my life, after my mother's sudden death, I started to paint in 1988. I had horrible headaches. Then on one of those headache days I asked for paper and pencil, because I felt like drawing. My painting started then and when I finished my picture, which depicted Sophia Loren, my headache disappeared, as if I never had one. My relatives considered me crazy because of the painting. I painted hundreds of pictures. I gave away most of them and kept only one which was about my eye surgery. I took this picture to the National Gallery in 1991 to ask their opinion, if it was worth painting. The experts encouraged me to work. After this I started to receive invitations to different exhibitions. In the summer of 1992 the Gypsy Methodology Centre invited me to their Gypsy Art Camp in Balatonalmadi.ln 19921 organized a collective exhibition in Monor at my uncle's restaurant, which was opened by Lajos Fur the Minister of Defence at that time. That day was memorable, because my acquaintances told me that they would eat their hats if the Minister came to Mara's exhibition. Not only he came, but my other exhibitions were opened by ministers, secretaries of state and famous painters. Even the American ambassador honoured me with attending the opening of the first gypsy private gallery at my flat in 1993.’





Mara Oláh



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