Gyula Bocz was born in Pécs on 1 March 1937. His father István Bocz was a locksmith’s assistant, and his mother was Mária Lex.
His talent for drawing soon became apparent, and his paternal grandmother in Hosszúhetény encouraged him to draw during the summer months. In 1950 he won 1st prize at the International Children’s Drawing Exhibition in Guatemala. In the 1950s, he studied art at the art school run by the artists Ferenc Martyn and Ferenc Lantos at the Doktor Sándor Cultural Centre in Pécs. In 1955 he became an employee of the Sopiana Machine Factory in Pécs, where he learned the foundry trade and later the machine locksmith trade, working as a machine locksmith until 1964, and then as an electrician.
In the first half of the 1960s he met several doctors and lawyers from Pécs: Miklós Kellermayer, Gábor Czéh, Alexander Varró, Gellért Péter and Mária Ugróczky. His artist and writer friends were Győző Dombay, István B. Gellér (Brúnó Gellér) and Gábor Czakó (Csaba Czakó). Officially considered self-taught because he had not graduated from the College of Fine Arts and was not a member of the Fine Arts Fund, Bocz was supported by the Baranya County Council because of his talent and his working-class background.
Written and edited by: Anna Tüskés
