Open-Air Gallery

Toplianska, Bardejov, Slovakia

In 2021–2022, the City of Bardejov implemented a project featuring 27 paintings titled "Open-Air Gallery – Bardejov in Space and Time," located along the cycle path in the recreational area along the Topľa River embankment. The paintings were created by the Bardejov artist Jozef Boža (b. 1963), who used a combination of acrylic paints and charcoal to capture the most significant events and figures in Bardejov's history.

The eighteenth painting is dedicated to Béla Kéler. In this piece, Boža combines Kéler's portrait—inspired by an 1851 painting by the Romanian artist Petre Mateescu, preserved in the collections of the Šariš Museum—with a view of the landmarks of Town Hall Square, including Kéler's birthplace. The composition is completed by a musical sketch of Kéler's Comedy Overture, Op. 73.