About Toth Erno

Education

1974-1979 Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest M.F.A.-Paintings

1964-1968 Secondary School of Fine Arts, Budapest B.A.-Sculpture

Erno Toth was born in 1949 in Hungary. After finishing his AA degree as a sculptor at the Fine Art College, Budapest, he worked as a set designer and painter in the Hungarian Opera House. Working behind the magical scenes of the greatest operas and escaping reality can be now seen as an inspiration for his painting.

In 1978 he received his master’s degree as a painter from the University of Fine Arts, Budapest.

He is a member of the Association of Hungarian Artists, the Community of Hungarian Painters, the Community of DunapART and the Community of Hungarian Art Workshops.

He has completed several study stays and internships in France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the USA.

His sculptures decorate squares, city streets, public buildings and exhibition halls not only in Hungary but also in Sweden, Finland, France, Austria, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, USA, Canada and in Taiwan. 

In Hungary, his works are represented in collections of all major galleries, such as the Hungarian National Gallery, the Mihály Munkács Museum in Békéscsaba, the Janos Tornyai Museum in Hódmezővásárhely, the Ottó Herman Museum in Miskolc, the Janus Pannonius Museum in Pécs and others.

Erno’s earlier work is characterized by his theatre background and depict a magical world enchanted with mythological figures, Commedia dell arte-esque pieces. This changes into a grotesque symbolism, but Toth is still able to keep the magic and the charm of his creatures. This shift can also be seen in his choices of colors; first his paintings are dominated by the colors of green, blue and red, which later expands to the usage of yellows and ochers.

He feels at home in his own self-made fantasy world, but he is not naïve to ignore our world. Toth's paintings have lots of humor. His art is like a big open fairytale book with characters of clowns, musicians krampus, and various fantasy animals. His favorite and oft repeated theme is the Musicians of Bremen by Grimm. In the past years, he also made bronze sculptures. One of his latest, and most famous works, can be found in Budapest, Graphisoft Park, depicting Steve Jobs.