1873 -1950 · Budapest, Vienna, Berlin and urban modernity

Jazz, cabaret, night traffic and faces of the metropolis give Hugó Scheiber a rhythmic painting where expressionism, futurism and Art Deco meet.

Hugó Scheiber was born in Budapest in 1873 into a Hungarian Jewish family. As a child, he followed his father to Vienna and learned from him the basics of the profession in the world of Prater, where he worked as a painter of signs and decorations. Back in Budapest, Scheiber earned his living during the day and took classes at the School of Applied Arts in the evening between 1898 and 1900. His first landscapes and portraits remained close to the outdoors and thick post-impressionism. In contact with European modernity, his manner was transformed: curved lines, angular profiles, strong colors and decomposition of movement brought his work closer to German expressionism, futurism and soon Art Deco. After a notable exhibition in Vienna with Béla Kádár in 1919, his meeting with Herwarth Walden opened a decisive stage. From the beginning of the 1920s, Scheiber exhibited at the Der Sturm gallery in Berlin and his works appeared in the magazine of the same name. He thus participated in an international network which linked the avant-gardes of Central Europe to London, Rome and New York. The Société Anonyme, founded in particular by Katherine Dreier, presented his work in New York in 1926. Marinetti then invited him to a futuristic event in Rome in 1926. Marinetti then invited him to a futuristic event in Rome in 1926. Marinetti then invited him to a futuristic event in Rome in 1933. Scheiber never submitted entirely to a movement. However, he built a personal, rapid and immediately recognizable, nourished by cafes, dancers, conductors, cigar self-portraits and especially new music. Jazz band condenses this ambition. The bodies and instruments are intertwined in an almost circular composition; repetition of curves, chromatic bursts and schematized faces transform the concert into visual vibration. Returning permanently to Budapest in the 1930s, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930s, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition. Died in 1930, he continued abundant production despite long-unequal local recognition particularly compares Jazz-band. His reading favors the material.

Scheiber does not only paint musicians: he translates jazz into lines, angles and colors, until he turns the entire surface into an urban rhythm.