CONTEXT OF SPACE. CONTEMPORARY HUNGARIAN SCENE

14.11 - 23.12.2011

The project Context of Space. The Contemporary Hungarian Scene has been prepared jointly by the Dominik Art Projects Foundation and Bunkier Sztuki in Kraków.
This is an opportunity to become acquainted with the multi-strand achievements of Hungarian artists over the past few decades, as well as to trace the influence of the masters of the neo-avant-garde on the young
generation of Budapest artists. Context of Space sets out to bring closer to the audience the specific climate of Hungarian art, which – following modernism and the characteristic strong influence of rationalism which accompanied it – has been relentlessly governed by down-to-earth solid thinking processes. At the same time, it has not been without sensitivity towards socio-political problems and events. The project aims to present a broad spectrum of the Hungarian art scene through the exhibitions Minimal Movements and Joy and Disaster as well as projections of films from the legendary Balázs Béla Stúdió.

The exhibition Minimal Movements is an attempt to illustrate minimal transpositions in space and to define movement, understood not only in its physical, but also social sense. What the artists presented (Miklós Erdély, Tibor Gayor, Dóra Maurer, Vera Molnár) have in common is a rational approach to art, rooted in the artistic and theoretical activities of László Moholy-Nagy. The title of the exhibition has been borrowed from the series of works by Dora Maurer Studies of Minimal Movements. Through recording simple and, seemingly, thoughtless activities, the artist exposes their complexity and rational basis. In an unorthodox way, this issue is also taken up in the works of Miklósa Erdély, one of the most important Hungarian artists, for whom one of the determinants of creativity was the utopian character of Kadar-era society. Rational analysis is a significant element in the art of Tibor Gayor. Attempting to find the boundary between movement and its absence, he poses the question whether it is at all possible to separate these two states. Vera Molnár, a precursor of digital art, represents yet another point of view. In her installation Hommage a Dürer, using a computer programme, she reduces the work of Albert Dürer to simple structures, at the same time effecting transpositions in artistic space.

Joy and Disaster is the second part of the project. In their works, the artists presented in this exhibition take on board the complexity of socio-political issues which preoccupy the young generation. The project demonstrates the multiplicity of artistic stances vis à vis contemporary challenges. This is also an artistic attempt to define the artist’s place in the commercial world, as well as his take on politics, economy or the consumerist society. What these stances share is the social context of art and the artist’s determination to stay in close contact with his surroundings. This is particularly noticeable in the works of Szabolcs KissPál who focuses on the analysis of economic, philosophical and historical symbols. Frequently, to make his point he uses everyday objects (European Mean Time and Surplus). The works of Timea Oravecz have a yet different perspective on social observation. They provide her personal narrative about decaying social values and forgotten simple pleasures (Some Artists are Shamans). An escape into an alternative world and reflection over the prevailing values marks out the artistic landscape of Tamás Kaszás, who, together with Anikó Lóránt, has prepared an installation which illustrates the doubt plaguing artists. The duo Little Warsaw (András Gálik and Bálint Havas) centre their art on the contestation of cultural canon. They are famous for the controversial work Body of Nefertiti, presented at the 50 Biennale in Venice, which questions ways of perception and the cult of artistic objects. Irony and provocation: this is the idiom of Judit Fischer and Miklós Mécs (SZAF). The artists show how the significance of objects can change when they are subjected to deliberate artistic activities. (Blesstonia and A Fairtrade Money: 20 British Pounds). In addition to these artists, we will also be able to see the intriguing works of Ádám Kokesch and the installation Find Your Place by Emese Benczúr, in which he suggests that members of the audience ‘find their own place’.

The exhibition is accompanied by the showing of selected films from Balázs Béla Stúdio (14 November 2011, at 6 pm). The Balázs Béla Stúdió, which started as a discussion club in the 1950s, in time became a promoter of independent, experimental cinema, skilfully avoiding the attention of the authorities. A turning point in its history came with the intervention by Gábor Bódy, who invited the collaboration of film makers who were usually engaged in other forms of artistic activity. As a result, for a few decades, the Balázs Béla Stúdió boasted the position of the most significant experimental film centre in our part of Europe, a position shared with the Workshop of Film Form in Łódź. As for the films of Miklós Erdély', Gábor Body, Dóra Maurer and András Szirtes, which we will show at Bunkier Sztuki, all made in the 70s – these are now classics of their kind. Dóra Maurer is the curator of the screening.

BALAZS BELA STUDIO
14.11.2011
Gábor Bódy, Miklós Erdély, Dóra Maurer, András Szirtes
Bunkier Sztuki / Klub Bunkra Sztuki, Kraków

MINIMAL MOVEMENTS
16.11 - 23.12.2011
Miklós Erdély, Tibor Gáyor, Dóra Maurer, Véra Molnar
Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków

JOY AND DISASTER
16.11 - 23.12.2011
Emese Benczur, Tamás Kaszás, Szabolcs KissPál, Ádám Kokesch, Tímea Oravecz, SZAF, Little Warsaw
Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków

WSPÓŁCZESNA SCENA WĘGIERSKA
16.11.2011
Spotkanie: Krisztina Jerger, Szabolcs KissPál, Dóra Maurer, Zsolt Petranyi
Moderator Dorota Monkiewicz
Bunkier Sztuki / Klub Bunkra Sztuki, Kraków

Organisers:
Dominik Art Projects Foundation
Bunkier Sztuki Contemporary Art Gallery

Co-organisers:
OSAS Association / Budapest
The Hungarian Centre in Krakówunkier Sztuki / Klub Bunkra Sztuki, Kraków
Moderator Dorota Monkiewicz
Moderator Dorota Monkiewicz

Moderator Dorota Monkiewicz
16.11.2011 Bunkier Sztuki / Klub Bunkra Sztuki, Kraków