Showing posts with label Hungarian contemporary art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hungarian contemporary art. Show all posts

14 June 2008

Romania 1-Hungary 0




No, you haven't logged in to the Art is More Important than Football Euro 2008 championship blog by mistake. But while we're on the subject---of the two countries, only Romania is fielding a team in the tournament. To a Hungarian football fan, or perhaps even to a proud Hungarian who isn't a football fan, that's sad news in and of itself. But to a Hungarian Art is More Important than Football enthusiast, the following news is even more disturbing:

There is now a gallery in Chelsea specializing in Romanian contemporary art.

http://www.slaggallery.com/

I of course wish nothing but the best to the founders and artists of the gallery. Simon Watson's eyes are most often very good at spotting the latest trends in art, and bringing a Central European country's art to the NY art world's attention is exactly what InterUrbanArt is striving to do.

My disappointment is simple and unbiased: Romania has beaten Hungary to the prize of establishing an artistic beachhead in New York.

I haven't yet been able to learn how Slag Gallery came to be. If anyone has any information or back story about that, I would be extremely grateful if you can pass it along.

Meanwhile, there is much work to be done to tie this game.

These recent paintings by Zsolt Bodoni are perfect shots straight at the goal, practically unstoppable.

06 January 2008

Unknown Contemporary Legend


"Beuys Strangling", 1980, 200 x 140 cm

Karoly Kelemen is one of the seminal figures of Hungarian contemporary art. His "eraser paintings", created mainly in the 1970s and 80s (he re-visited the style in the early 2000s), are prime examples of "blue chip" Hungarian contemporary art that is almost entirely unknown internationally outside of a handful of inner circles.

These paintings are graphite on canvas, and on average measure 2 meters x 3 meters (6 ft. x 9ft). Kelemen "paints" them by erasing.

Karoly Kelemen is represented by a very well-respected Budapest gallery but, amazingly, has no international representation.

More information can be found about his work at http://www.memoart.eu/. Please mention Edward Mocsi/InterUrbanArt when contacting the gallery.

11 December 2007

If these paintings were in a gallery on West 24th Street...







A toast to Jozsef Csato, who has an exhibition opening in Budapest tonight (11th December)...