Field Review | Artist Interview Series

I am an award-winning contemporary artist based in the creative hub of Bristol, UK, and I hold an MSc degree from the Technical University of Košice. Born in socialist Czechoslovakia, my lineage traces back to an old aristocratic family on my mother's side, while my father was a prominent surgeon. Because of our intellectual and noble background, my father was expelled from the Communist Party, and I was blacklisted by the regime. Labeled as "insufficiently politically active" and denied the necessary bureaucratic points to study fine art, the authorities attempted to force me into a career as a cook.

Defying this systemic oppression, I always remembered my grandmother’s words: "They took everything from us, but they can never steal what is inside your mind." Driven by this unyielding spirit, I used my engineering training to design complex machinery, eventually securing a state Author's Certificate of Invention (Patent) for a bakery machine design as part of my university thesis.

However, survival and family demands required a strategic pivot. To fund my son's advanced education, I entered the intense corporate landscape, working for the German conglomerate REWE Group as a Senior Expansion and Project Manager. I spent eight years managing massive commercial developments, overseeing everything from raw land acquisition to final structural certification. For years, my fine art had to wait—I navigated executive boardrooms by day and painted secretly through the night, stealing hours from sleep just to keep my spirit alive in the dark.

My sacrifices triumphed; I raised a genius for the British nation, and today my son, Dr. Marius Hegedus, works in the UK as a PhD quantum physicist. After my children achieved independence, I finally reclaimed my sovereign freedom, relocating to the UK, getting married, and fully dedicating my life to my artistic calling.