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July 23, 2010
A rich legacy on show
Celebrate the art and passion of George Vamos.
OLGA LIVSHIN
George Vamos never considered himself an artist. He was an architect, highly respected in Kenya, where he spent most of his adult life. Although he loved to paint, for him, painting was a hobby, a way to relax and enjoy his yearly vacations. He never exhibited during his lifetime and never sold his paintings, although he often gave them as gifts to his friends and relatives. Celebrating 100 years since his birth, his wife, Soedji, and son, Geza, are presenting his landscapes from Europe and Africa at the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery until the end of this month.
Like many European Jews at the beginning of the 20th century, Vamos’ earlier years were full of contradictions and hardships. Born in 1910 in Hungary, he studied architecture in Vienna. When fascism started raising its ugly head in Europe, he escaped, taking a job in Iraq, where he worked for the British government, later joining the British forces.
Unfortunately, having been born in Hungary, he wasn’t a British subject. He was regarded as an “alien” and, as the war progressed, he was interned, together with other aliens, in Uganda. Although later he was released from the internment camp and served in the British army again, his sojourn in Uganda brought him close to Africa. He fell in love with the continent, its untamed nature and its multicultural society. After his demobilization in 1946, he didn’t return to Europe, where most of his relatives had perished. He settled in Nairobi and opened an architectural firm with his partner, Heini Lustman.
In Kenya and in neighboring countries, Vamos’ projects included apartment buildings and schools, offices and town halls – even a cathedral. In 1978, he was lauded for his design of the mausoleum of the late president Jomo Kenyatta. At the end of his career, Vamos received an award from the Architectural Association of Kenya for his outstanding contribution to the architecture of the country.
Vamos took pride in his job, but his practice constituted only a segment of a larger entity – Vamos, the man. Without a doubt, he belonged to the intellectual class of the Kenyan capital. He loved classical music and never missed a concert hosted by the Nairobi Music Society, of which he was a member. His enthusiasm for theatre and poetry inspired him to join the Goethe Institute’s branch in Nairobi. He also was a firm believer in the power of physical exercise: he swam every day and was a member of the Nairobi Sailing and Sub Aqua Club.
His varied interests made him a Renaissance man, multifaceted and bright, who never took himself too seriously. His inner harmony and droll sense of humor attracted many friends. Every New Year, Vamos created a holiday card – a loving caricature of himself, his wife and son. The cards depicted the family’s follies and passions and were accompanied by an ironic, often ridiculous, text. He then printed multiple copies of the card and sent it to his friends and associates. Speaking to the Independent, his son, Geza, recalled that his father needed at least 100 copies every year. Some of those cards are now on display at the Zack Gallery.
Vamos also spoke several languages: English, French, German, Hungarian and a sprinkling of Swahili and Arabic. His linguistic abilities helped him during his travels, which was one of the family’s favorite pastimes. Every summer, Vamos took his family to a different country. They traveled all over Europe, visited Israel and, everywhere, Vamos painted.
Painting was his labor of love, a source of deep joy. “Sometimes he would make several sketches a day,” remembered his wife, Soedji. “He was fascinated by the shapes of buildings and mountains.” The landscapes of Europe and Africa on the gallery walls are only a small part of Vamos’ legacy of about 1,300 sketches and paintings.
In his pictures, a Haarlem cathedral stretches its gothic spires to the sky, a street in Florence meanders among old buildings, wondering what is behind the next bend, a picturesque Greek village climbs up the mountainside, and small fishing boats in a Norwegian fjord dream of high seas and faraway lands. Serenity is absolute; you could never guess the tribulations of the artist’s life. The colors are subdued and quiet, as if shy of flamboyance. Reflecting the artist’s peaceful nature, his paintings seem like poems without words. Even enormous African baobabs resemble benevolent mythological dragons, not frightening, but majestic and curious, a silent retreat into the artist’s dreamland, where everyone is welcome.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She is available for contract work. Contact her at [email protected].
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