PONYICZKI
Education
MFA (Fine Art) - Nottingham Trent University, UK. 2016 - 2020
Catharsis Complex Art Therapy, LEA, Budapest, Hungary. 2019-ongoing
Anthroposophy -“Napút” Open University of Art, Budapest, Hungary. 2000 - 2002
Etching -”Nagyvarad Square” Art School, Budapest, Hungary. 1999 - 2001
Aquarelle Painting - Technical University of Budapest, Hungary. 1997 - 1998
Award in Education and Training - Grantham College, UK. 2014 - 2015
MBA, Human Management - Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary. 2004 - 2008
MSc (Arch) - Budapest University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Hungary. 1992 - 1997
Awards and Grants
2024 - Claire Peasnall Memorial Painting Award, St Hugh’s Foundation, East Midlands (UK)
2024 - National Cultural Fund of Hungary Grant (Hungary)
2022 - Develop Your Creative Practice Grant, Arts Council England
2022 - Leicester Print Workshop Residency grant
2020 - Grant from the Irene Fund, 'Alone and Together' (Champernowne Trust)
2018 - MMA (Hungarian Academy of Arts) special professional award, X. National Exhibition of Grotesque Fine and Applied Arts (Hungary)
2018 - NTU MA Mastered Exhibition marketing campaign MFA winner
2018 - ExperiMentor residency 'Orbit' programme (1 year), New Art Exchange
2017 - Lichfield Prize, finalist
2017 - NTU MA Mastered Exhibition marketing campaign MFA winner
2016 - NTU Postgraduate Scholarship
Recent Exhibitions
2025
solo show, Myths and Dreams - Beyond Time, Harding House Gallery, Lincoln
MFT group exhibition of the Uzsa art residency, Museum Gallery, Budapest
group exhibition of the Hungarian Artists in the World Association (MKVE), Csallóközi Museum, Dunaszerdahely
LAS exhibition, Doddington Hall
upcoming - Liszt Institute, London
upcoming - London Art Biennale
upcoming - solo show at Willoughby Gallery, Corby Glen
2024
LAS exhibition, Usher Gallery, Lincoln
'Time Stamp' group show, Surface Gallery, Nottingham
solo show, Beeston Library, Nottingham
solo show, St. Martin's Gallery, Lincoln
solo show at The Artist's Window, Boston
solo show 'Time Immemorial', Newark Town Hall Museum & Art Gallery
group exhibition of the Hungarian Artists in the World Association (MKVE), Törökbálint, Hunagry
MFT new members' exhibition: New Voices, Újpest Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
LAS exhibition, Doddington Hall
MFT group exhibition, Heraklion Municipal Art Gallery , Basilica of Saint Markou, Heraklion, Greece
2023
'Involved' International Collaboration Project, Zygote Press, Cleveland, USA
‘Web Structures’ – exhibition of Ferenc Csurgai, György Olajos, Gábor Tari and Szilvia Ponyiczki, Demola, Budapest, Hungary
LAS exhibition, Doddington Hall, UK
KaposArt Group Show, Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania
Érd Art Gallery - closing exhibition of the Érd Artist Residency, Érd, Hungary
Winter Exhibition group show, Érd, Hungary
2022
solo show 'Half Broken Hopes' at Willoughby Memorial Art Gallery, Corby Glen, UK
solo show 'Dream Carpets' at Érd Art Gallery, Érd, Hungary
Sóház Gallery, closing exhibition of the KaposArt residency, Szigetvár, Hungary
LAS exhibition, Usher Gallery, Lincoln - shortlisted for the society's Oyler/Hayward Award
Exhibition of the Szigetvár International Artist Residency in Budapest, Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center
Winter Exhibition group show, Érd, Hungary
2021
Sóház Gallery, closing exhibition of the KaposArt residency, Szigetvár, Hungary
Zrinyi Castle, Szigetvár, Hungary
LAS exhibition, Sam Scorer Gallery, Lincoln, UK
KaposArt Group Show, Vaszary Gallery, Kaposvár, Hungary
Texture Printmaking Studio International Collaboration Project, Tainan City, Taiwan
LAS exhibition, Doddington Hall, UK
2020
'Lost Stories', Surface Gallery, Nottingham, UK
'Near and Far' international online print exhibition and exchange, Morlan Gallery, Lexington, USA
'Droplets' Exhibition, HallSpace, Boston, USA
KaposArt Group Show, Vaszary Gallery, Kaposvár, Hungary
'Art Flags', Main Mall, Kaposvár, Hungary
Winter Exhibition group show, Érd, Hungary
Bonington Atrium, NTU, Nottingham, UK
Re-imagining the Nolan Principles in Public Life project, The Lightbox, Barnsley, UK
2019
Re-imagining the Nolan principles in public life project, Birmingham, UK
Human Condition, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
KaposArt Exhibition, Oradea, Transylvania
Project Space, NTU, Nottingham, UK
Dimensions, Reök Palace, Szeged, Hungary
International Art Prize, Palazzo Birago, Torino, Italy
Uncharted Territory, exhibition about Brexit and Migration, Cambridge, UK
Respect for the Paper, Törökbálint, Hungary
Winter Exhibition group show, Érd, Hungary
Rituals and Rites Exhibition, Artcore, Derby, UK
2018
Solo exhibition, MUZA Cultural Centre, Gödöllő, Hungary
Aftermath, Nottingham Contemporary, UK
KaposArt Exhibition, Art Nouveau Gallery, Tirgu Mures, Transylvania
Exhibition of the XIV. International Artist Residency, Törökbálint, Hungary
X. National Exhibition of Grotesque Fine and Applied Arts, Kaposvar, Hungary
New Talent Exhibition, Focus Gallery, Nottingham, UK
Solo Exhibition, Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham, UK
'Melange de Fruits' MFA interim show, Primary, Nottingham, UK
'Threads' Exhibition, Espacio Gallery, London, UK
eNRA Exhibition, MaJel Rovás Centre, Košice, Slovakia
Focus on Identity Exhibition, Piacere Gallery, London, UK
AP Exhibition, LVA Gallery, Sheraton Hotel, London, UK
2017
Poly-Art Exhibition, Érd, Hungary
'Evocativo' Exhibition, Art Gallery 37, Torino, Italy
'Dreams and Extremes' Exhibition, finalist, Lichfield Cathedral, Lichfield, UK
'Event One' Exhibition, Primary, Nottingham, UK
Chester Art Centre Open Exhibition, Chester, UK
MFA winner for the Nottingham Trent University marketing campaign, 'MA show student image'
'Threads' Exhibition, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Mixed Exhibition, Carre Gallery, Sleaford, UK
'Threads' Exhibition, Espacio Gallery, London, UK
2016
Poly-Art Exhibition, Érd, Hungary
eNRA Exhibition, Art Gallery of the Mining Museum, Rozsnyó, Slovakia
'Mustra' Exhibition, Community Centre, Érd, Hungary
RSMA Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London, UK
ROVAS Exhibition, MKE Artists’ Residency, Tihany, Hungary
eNRA Exhibition, Vermes Villa Contemporary Hungarian Art Gallery, Slovakia
2015
ROVAS Exhibition, Community Centre, Jablonca, Slovakia
2014
'Összhangban / In harmony' solo exhibition with Emöke László, Community Centre, Érd, Hungary
eNRA Exhibition, Art Gallery of the Mining museum, Rozsnyó, Slovakia
ROVAS Exhibition, MKE Artists’ Residency, Tihany, Hungary
International Friendship Group Exhibition, Grantham Town Hall, UK
Press / Media
Anikó Petri art historian's speech at the Dream-Carpets exhibition opening, Érd, Hungary - 2022
Élet és irodalom (ÉS) - Metamorfózis by István Sinkó - 2022
About Half Broken Hopes in Grantham Journal - 2022
Framing the Unconscious - interview by Ignas Vieversys
Bailgate Independent p. 38, November-December - 2020
After Illusion zine p. 40-41 - 2020
'Entangled Encounters' gets on the list of favourite students' works in The Guardian - 2018
Aftermath Exhibition Guide - 2018
Works published in Sheepshead Review, spring issue 2018 of UWGB, Wisconsin, USA
Works published and interview in Art Reveal Magazine no. 38, April 2018, p. 96-101, ISBN 9781388503475 - 2018
Focus on Identity Project, ISSUU - 2017
Radio Report in Radio Bézs’s ‘Lila tinta/Purple Ink’ show, reporters: G. Szerényi, I. Frank, Hungary - 2017
'oneiroi' zine, Issue 3, publication - 2017
'Caught in the Whirl' featured in the AverageArt's Magazine February 2017 edition
Paintings operate as background images for the Hungarian TV Show, 'Sztárportré / Star Portraits' - 2016-2018
Radio Report in RadioQ 'Teremör/Museum Guard' Art Show, reporter: Gábor Szerényi - 2014
Artist Residencies
2024 - Residency of the Association of Hungarian Painters' (MFT), Uzsa, Hungary
2023 - Érd Art Residency, Hungary
2022 - Érd Art Residency, Hungary
2022 - Leicester Print Workshop Residency, lead artist: George Sfougaras
2021 - Artist Mentoring Programme, Real Creative Futures, NAE, Nottingham, UK
2021 - KaposArt Residency, Szigetvár, Hungary
2018 - XIV. International Artist Residency, Törökbálint, Hungary
2018 - International Artist Residency, Barcs, Hungary
2018 - ExperiMentor residency 'Orbit' programme, New Art Exchange, UK
2017 - ROVÁS Residency, Tihany, Hungary
2016 - ROVÁS Residency, Tihany, Hungary
2015 - ROVÁS Residency, Jablonca, Slovakia
2014 - ROVÁS Residency, Tihany, Hungary
2014 - 'Napút' Art Academy of Anthroposophy, Kapolcs, Hungary
Community Projects
2022 - Re-Invent project - History Art Trail around Grantham
2021 - "The Same Boat" project - "Vulnerability" piece, lead artists: Anne-Marie Kerr and Szilvia Ponyiczki, collaborated with Grantham College Daybreak Centre students.
Commissions
MaDe in MinD, a short film about own working processes, commissioned by Real Creative Futures, New Art Exchange, 2020
‘Empowered’ for the ‘Re-imagining the Nolan principles in public life’ project, commissioned by Shared Press, 2019
Dream Representation - Dreamscape Painting - a video piece about own art practice, an AccessEd commission to support BA newcomers at Nottingham Trent University in 2018
Works in Collections
'Waves' - Contemporary Art Collection of Uzsa, Hungary
'See-Through' - Contemporary Art Collection of Érd, Hungary
'Midsummer Night' - Transylvania University & Morlan Gallery, Lexington, USA
'Dead End' - Contemporary Art Collection- of Törökbálint, Hungary
'Humility' - KaposArt Private Collection, Hungary
Work in private collections: UK, USA, Taiwan, Hungary
Memberships
- LAS Lincolnshire Artists' Society (https://lincolnshireartistssociety.com)
- ‘Focus on Identity’ international art project (www.focusonidentity.org)
- Hungarian Painters' Association (MFT)
- National Association of Hungarian Artists (MAOE)
Links to video and sound pieces:
Myths and Dreams: Beyond Time lino print series in the making
Artworks Based on Ancient Symbolism
Dream Representation - Dreamscape Painting
About practice
Szilvia Ponyiczki’s paintings are shaped by a deep curiosity about ancient cultures and the symbolic threads that tie them to our present lives. Her work grows out of years of quiet research and reflection, drawing on mythologies, artefacts, and fragments of visual language from some of the world’s earliest civilizations—Sumer, Jiroft, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley. But this isn’t academic archaeology. It’s something far more personal.
Born in Hungary and now living in Lincolnshire, Szilvia brings together her background in architecture with her lifelong interest in the sacred, the mysterious, and the half-remembered. She paints intuitively, often beginning with flowing watercolour or layered textures that act like dream-soaked landscapes. From these grounds, forms start to appear—hybrid creatures, ancient symbols, hints of forgotten stories. Sometimes they echo a motif seen years ago in a museum or a line from a myth that’s stuck in the mind like a melody.
Rather than depicting myths directly, her work seems to remember them. Shapes emerge from memory and imagination, guided more by rhythm and feeling than logic. The result is a body of work that speaks in a language that feels both ancient and deeply internal. It’s not a literal translation of the past but a conversation with it—one that crosses centuries, cultures, and states of mind.
Szilvia’s practice isn’t about grand declarations, but slow, layered discovery. It’s an attempt to tune into something older and quieter than modern noise—to find what still moves beneath the surface. Her paintings invite you in gently, asking you to look closer, to feel your way through the symbols. They offer space for reflection, for intuition, and for a kind of inner listening that’s easy to lose in daily life.
These works are shaped by a sense of wonder and a belief that symbols—no matter how old—still have something urgent to say. They’re an offering: a way of holding space for myth, memory, and meaning to flow through.