Gábor Nagy
Flower designer
Budapest, Hungary
When floristry meets art
- Gábor has won floral competitions in Hungary and abroad
- He has largely taught himself from reading books
- He integrates unusual materials in his designs
2017 was a year to remember for Gábor Nagy. At 23 he won both the Hungarian Flower Arrangement Championship and the European Youth Championship in Belgium, suddenly becoming a star of international floral design. Yet, he never trained properly to be a professional in the field. “I didn't attend any school or course” he admits. “But my parents have been running a flower shop in Vásárosnamény, our hometown, since I was 12. After school I used to help them there, and I still do every time I go home from Budapest, where I live and work now.” Back then, it was mostly his mother who taught him. “The rest I learned by myself, reading a lot of books” he says. “That’s why my compositions are so different from the traditional ones.”
INTERVIEW
Before floristry, I used to practice sculpture and painting. So now everything I create, from bridal bouquets to event decorations and huge installations, is influenced by fine arts. I like to play with different forms, colours and texture, to use traditional materials in new ways and integrate unusual ones, like matches or toothpicks, in my designs.
A few years ago, I dedicated a series of bouquets to the Phoenix, the mythological bird. One of them was made with burgundy, red, orange and yellow flowers – gerberas, ranunculus and others, all the colours of fire – and had a real flame burning at its centre.
Yes, I do. I prefer fresh ones but they are bound to die soon, so sometimes I choose dried flowers to make the compositions last longer. My absolute favourite are simple dandelions, which are very special to me. Every spring I collect hundreds of them from the fields, spray them with glue and use them all year long. They are my lucky charm.
I put a lot of myself into my art, so much that when I look at it I can see the map of my life. Inspiration comes virtually from anything from nature to art, music, dance, fashion and architecture. That’s why I plan to open a flower shop in Budapest that will be a kind of art gallery where I’ll host other artists as well.
