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Vera Molnár
Vera Molnár is a media artist originally from Hungary.
As a leading pioneer of digital art, she began using mainframe computers as early as the late 1960s as a central tool for creating her geometric and systematic works. She has worked continuously with computers ever since. She translated her hand-drawn sketches of elementary forms, such as the square, into self-written programs that incorporated chance as a central design principle. In this way, she developed series in which strict regularity is varied by random disturbances. Her work, which has been exhibited in renowned museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, has had a significant influence on digital art. Molnár viewed the computer as a tool—like a ruler or dice—that helps artists explore ideas more comprehensively and make creative decisions.
Vera Molnár (1924–2023), Hypertransformations, 1974/2009, acrylic on canvas, 100 × 100 cm, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014; Photo: Museum für Konkrete Kunst und Design, Helmut Bauer
Vera Molnár (1924–2023), Trapèzes penchés à droite, 1987/88, collage (detail), adhesive tape on cardboard, 25 × 65 cm, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014; Photo: Museum für Konkrete Kunst und Design, Helmut Bauer
Biography
1924
Born in Budapest
1942–1947
Studied painting, art history, and aesthetics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest
1947
Recipient of a fellowship at Villa Julia in Rome; moved to France
1960
Co-founder of the “Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel” (GRAV); first participation in the exhibition Concrete Art in Zurich, organized by Max Bill
1967
Co-founder of the group “Art et Informatique” at the Institut d’Esthétique et des Sciences de l’Art in Paris
1974–1976
Development of the “MolnArt” software program
1980
Member of the “Centre de Recherche Expérimentale et Informatique des Arts Visuels” (CREIAV) at the Université de Paris I, Sorbonne
1985–1990
Lecturer at the Université de Paris I, Sorbonne
2006
Co-founder of the “Open Structures Art Society” (OSAS) in Budapest
2007
Order of Arts and Letters
2010
Inducted into the SKKD
2012
Order of Merit of the Legion of Honor
2018
Merit Awards AWARE in Paris
2022
Participated in the Venice Biennale
2023
Died in Paris
Past exhibitions at the MKKD
2026
Becoming MKKD. On Planning and Creating a Museum (group exhibition)
2023
Back to the Beginning: The Gomringer Collection and 30 Years of the Museum of Concrete Art (group exhibition)
2022
Reflections / Mirror Worlds (group exhibition)
2015
Black on White: Highlights from the Maximilian and Agathe Weishaupt Collection and the Foundation for Concrete Art and Design (group exhibition)
2014
Vera Molnár – (Dis)order (Dés)ordres
2012
Highlights II: 5 Years of the Foundation for Concrete Art and Design (group exhibition)