“I drew and painted, spun and wove, learned and taught... Though I am called a Doctor of Liberal Arts, I don’t really need it (it is just a title), because as long as I live I want to impart beauty to my fellow humans. I’ve been creating palpable, warm, thought-provoking textiles for nearly 50 years”, wrote retired associate professor of our University Éva Penkala, who has passed away recently, to describe herself. She was 70 years old.

She passed on, and we are left with an aching heart to contemplate how she can only impart beauty and warmth to her fellow humans through her works now. Her works of art were created using one of the most ancient techniques for capturing life: weaving. The highly gifted textile artist was not only a teacher at MOME, but had also been a student at our University’s predecessor, the Hungarian Academy of Applied Arts. She made her debut in the late 80s as a member of the new generation of textile artists, and has become an innovator in upholstery art and, in addition to her career in art, also a master of generations of textile artists. She had regular joint exhibitions with her husband, industrial product and vehicle designer and professor of our university József Scherer, formulating all those shared values and mindset that they wanted to convey.

Éva Penkala contributed to such authoritative reference books as the Great Weave Book Vol. 1 and 2, which ran through several editions and helped also non-professionals with getting started. Through this and her works she made the miracle of weaving as a way of expression comprehensible and accessible to everyone.

Éva Penkala’s path is recalled by Artportal...