Projects-Events
New members in the Studio
For the beginning of June, the four-member jury selected 6 new Studio members from 22 candidates. Members of the jury were Flóra Barkóczi, art historian (Artpool Art Research Center), Bálint Ferenczy, art historian, board member of FFS, Dániel János Fodor, artist, board member of FFS and Benedek Regős, photographer, visual artist, board member and secretary of FFS. The new members of FFS in 2019:
László Gábor Belicza
Krisztina Szalay
Noémi Szécsi
Lilla Váczi
Domonkos Varga
Viktor Varga
Damage Control
— Biró/Hodosy/Geibl
13 April - 4 May 2019
K. A. S. Galéria
Artists: Dávid Biró, Enikő Hodosy, Eszter Riga
Curator: Vivienne Gamble (Seen Fifteen Gallery, London), Bálint Ferenczy (Initio Fine Arts, Budapest)
Vernissage: 12 April 2019 8 pm
Location: K. A. S. Galéria (Budapest, Bartók Béla út 9.)
Exhibition is open until 4 May 2019, from Thuesday to Friday between 2-6 pm.
Co-orgainzer of the exhibition is the Initio Fine Arts.
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Damage Control brings together the work of three members of the Studio of Young Photographers whose work examines tensions within the construction of human social identities. In today’s world of ‘perfect’ lives made public on social media sites, these artists explore an opposite dynamic - the flaws, inconsistencies and private difficulties that are inherent within the complex web of human relationships and interactions.
Dávid Biró’s ERR (2017) series focuses on the human behavior, determined by common courtesies. These conventional rules help us to interact in social circumstances, however, in a human-made system malfunctions can easily occur. Biró recreates and catalogues these intermittences, highlighting accidental, momentary and often oddly bizarre situations.
Enikő Hodosy’s Invisible-you (2016) series deals with emotional frictions. After a fight or argument, our soul and inner self might get damaged the same way as our body could. Hodosy’s interest lays in how to portray emotional injuries and visualize an internal elusive state. The result is an atmospheric set, containing photos of bruises, supplemented by pictures from her photo diary. Hodosy extends the series both in time and space by adding cultural and art historical references, going beyond the personal level, formulating a universal message.
Eszter Riga’s diploma work, Persona (2015) was created in her last collage year; in a period, which was a highly stressful time for Riga, facing anxiety problems and low self-esteem. The pictures of the series are metaphorical visualizations of her emotions, showing her fight for gaining recognition and the struggle for finding her own artistic voice. Riga’s other exhibited work, called Recall deals with emotions, embedded into the human touch., such as maternal embraces or fatherly slaps. These interactions (whether positive or negative) are coded in our memory for a lifetime. Riga recalls these inner pictures by using light sensitive materials, applied to the surface of the photographic paper, creating an abstract interface.
The exhibition is curated by Vivienne Gamble, founder and director of Seen Fifteen and co-founder and creative director of the Peckham 24 Festival.
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About K. A. S. Gallery:
K. A. S. Gallery was founded in Budapest after the change of the political regime in 1990. Its appearance was relevant as a response to build up alternatives to the institutional system of the local scene when there was neither governmental support nor private sponsorship yet for the arts in the country. The founder of K. A. S Gallery, Ilona Nyakas was one of the first to open a contemporary art gallery in Budapest in the 1990s. Nyakas, herself also an artist, familiar with the existential and financial problems facing artists, aims to support talented young artists with independent exhibitions.
About Seen Fifteen:
The artistic programme at Seen Fifteen is dedicated to the work of contemporary photographers, with a specialist focus on photography’s “Expanded Field” and artists who push the boundaries of the medium. Artists exhibited with Seen Fifteen include Maya Rochat, Laura El-Tantawy, Taisuke Koyama, Alexander Mourant, Megan Doherty, Martin Seeds and Ciaran Og Arnold. Originally from Ireland, Seen Fifteen’s founder Vivienne Gamble also supports the work of emerging Irish artists and has curated shows at Belfast Exposed Photography Gallery and Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris. She holds an MA in History and Theory of Photography from Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Vivienne is also Co-Founder of Peckham 24 - a festival of contemporary photography that takes place during Photo London week in May each year. The festival is a collaboration between Peckham-based artists and art spaces with the Fourth Edition of Peckham 24 taking place in May 2019.
About Initio Fine Arts:
Initio Fine Arts was founded in 2017 by Bálint Ferenczy and Marie Tourre de Robien, with the aim to promote and represent Central and Eastern European art and design from the 1950s onwards. With access to both well-known artists, such as Judit Reigl, François Fiedler, Dóra Maurer, Imre Bak, Sándor Kecskeméti and also, to emerging talents, Initio Fine Arts’ mission is to support various artistic endeavors from the region through curated exhibitions and by participating at international art fairs. Following the family tradition, Initio Fine Arts’ core values are based on two decades of experience in dealership, being known as a trusted introducer of emerging talents.
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The exhibition was made possible through the support of the National Cultural Fund of Hungary and the Association of Hungarian Photographers.
The exhibition is co-curated by Bálint Ferenczy, Initio Fine Arts.
We are grateful for Trapéz Gallery’s support to exhibit Dávid Biró series.
The exhibition is part of the official program of the Budapest Art Week.
FFS Wednesday – 27. 03. 2019.
Mai Manó House
Sári Ember
Discussion in Hungarian
Sári Ember (1985, São Paulo) works and lives in Budapest. After graduating from the photography degree course of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, she participated in several resident programmes in Brazil, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Her artworks were invited to solo and group exhibitions organized all around the world, among others, in the cities of São Paulo, Paris, Lodz, Brno, and Budapest. In 2010, she was selected to participate in the Contretype resident programme, held in Brussels. In 2017, she was awarded the Artissima Campari Prize in Torino and she was among the group of artists who presented their works at the exhibition ‘Künstlerhaus Abstract Hungary', in Graz.
www.embersari.hu
Cover photo: Installation at 'Since our stories all sound alike' solo show, Galleria Campari, Milan, 2018 © Sári Ember
The FFS Wednesday lecture series is supported by the National Cultural Fund (NKA) and the Mai Manó House.
Balogh/Bilak/Geibl
— Women's Studies
15 February - 3 March 2019
K. A. S. Galéria
Artists: Viktória Balogh, Krystyna Bilak, Kata Geibl
Curator: Bálint Ferenczy
Vernissage: 14 February 2019 6:30 pm
Opening speech: György Cséka, esthete
Location: K. A. S. Galéria (Budapest, Bartók Béla út 9.)
Exhibition is open until 4 March 2019, from Thuesday to Friday between 2-6 pm.
Co-orgainzer of the exhibition is the Initio Fine Arts.
Plan D
- Exhibition of the Studio of Young Photographers
18 January - 29 March 2019
ICA-D Institute of Contemporary Art
- Dunaújváros
Artists: A Fehér Vera, Fromm Balázs, Kiss Richárd, Lázár Dóri, Martinkó Márk, Nagy Tibor, Németh Domonkos Tamás, Pólya Zsombor, Regős Benedek.
Curated by György Cséka, esthete
The exhibition is the result of the Plan D workshop of the Studio of Young Photographers.
Vernissage: 18 January 2018, 6 pm.
Opening speech by Monika Perenyei, art historian
Join us and take the free shuttle bus to the vernissage!
FFS Wednesday – 31. 10. 2018.
Mai Manó House
Áron Kútvölgyi-Szabó:
The role of imagery and spatiality
in the post-phactual age
Áron Kútvölgyi-Szabó
1985, Budapest
Educations
2018 - DLA (Doctor of Liberal Arts), Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Doctoral School
2008 - 2013 Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture (MFA),University of Pécs, Faculty of Music and Visual Arts, Hungary
2007 Sculpture, Fine art, Engelsholm Højskole, Denmark
2004 - 2008 Art history, Philosophy, PPKE, Faculty of Humanities, Hungary
Solo exhibitions
2018
Patterns of Counterknowledge, G99 Gallery, Brno, CZ
[B/R]elief, Parthenon Frieze Hall, Budapest
2017
Gettier's cave, Óbudai Társaskör Gallery, Budapest
Clustering illusions, Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, D
Distortions, Chimera-Project Gallery, Budapest
2016
Ignorances, Labor Gallery, Budapest
In between grids, Plusmínusnula Gallery, Žilina, SK
Photo: Installation view in G99 Gallery, Brno (CZ) © Áron Kútvölgyi Szabó
We don't play guitars
– debut show of the
new members of FFS
11.11 - 24. 10. 2018.
K.A.S. Galéria
Artists: Szilvia Bolla, Gergely Kiss, Imre Kiss, Richárd Kiss, Dóri Lázár, Domonkos Tamás Németh, Zsombor Pólya, Zsófia Sivák
Curated by: Dániel János Fodor, Oxána Sztrehalet
The new members of the Studio of Young Photographers don’t take photographs, and even if they do, they do it in ways you wouldn’t expect. This team of eight young artists is searching for the relevance and potentiality of photography in 2018. Inspired by the power of light, information overflow, and also capturing, examining, highlighting or hushing up things, the artists step on the stage, smash their instruments, grab the nearest object then start playing music. Moshing and crowd surfing are prohibited.
Vernissage on 24 October 2018, 7 pm
Opening speech by János Vető
K.A.S. Galéria
Budapest, Bartók Béla út 9.
open: Tuesday-Friday 2 - 6pm
We don't play guitars - zine
Authors: Réka Borda, Móni Ferencz, Ferenc Hyross, Lilla Kopcsányi, Gergő Körösztös, Dániel Nagy, Lili Hanna Seres, Ádám Vajna
Graphic design: Benedek Regős
Photos: Dávid Biró
FFS booth
at Art Market Budapest
11-14. 10. 2018.
Millenáris, Hall D
P503
Exhibited artists: Vera A Fehér, Viktória Balogh, András Bán, Krystyna Bilák, Bolla Szilvia, Zsolt Ficsór, Dániel János Fodor, Balázs Fromm, Kata Geibl, Enikő Hodosy, Gergely Kiss, Imre Kiss, Richárd Kiss, Dóri Lázár, Márk Martinkó, Barnabás Neogrády-Kiss, Barbara Nyíri, Domonkos Tamás Németh, Anna Palkó, Marcell Piti, Zsófia Puszt, Zsombor Pólya, Benedek Regős, Judit Flóra Schuller, Zsófia Sivák, Oxána Sztrehalet, Katalin Vasali, Boglárka Éva Zellei
Curated by Balázs Zoltán Tóth and Benedek Regős
Concept by Benedek Regős
Installation and furniture: Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop
Fotók © Regős Benedek
FFS Wednesday – 05. 10. 2018.
Mai Manó House
Agnieszka Rayss (Sputnik Photos)
– artist talk
Can photography re-enact the past?
Photography has become a veritable seedbed for (re)staging, re-playing reenacting for the camera. There are works that use further and closer history, mix theatricality and documentality in attractive ways. What does it serve for - can we really look into the past using photography? Is photography still any witness, can it be witness of any past? Where should we stop to believe photography?
Agnieszka Rayss,
documentary photographer, based in Warsaw, Poland. Co-founder of the Sputnik Photos collective. A two-time winner of the Picture of the Year award and other important international and local awards. She published the album “American Dream” (about cultural transformation in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe) and recently “This Is Where the End of Cities Begins” – on undiscovered suburban spaces.
Photo © Agnieszka Rayss (detail)
FFS Wednesday – 19. 09. 2018.
Mai Manó House
Alternative daycare
– Domonkos Tamás Németh's
report on the FOTOPUB festival
Domonkos Tamás Németh is a new member of FFS. In August he took part in the portfolio review of this years' FOTOPUB festival, which usually takes place in the small town of Novo Mesto, Slovenia. The festival focusing on to showcase the freshest artistic experiments and activity of young artists.
Plan D
- workshop and fieldwork
Summer 2018 - Spring 2019
Cooperation project with Contemporary Art Center - Dunaújváros (ICA-D).
Moderator: György Cséka
Participating members: Vera A Fehér, Krystyna Bilak, Dávid Biró, Szilvia Bolla, Zsolt Ficsór, Dániel János Fodor, Balázs Fromm, Enikő Hodosy, Gergely Kiss, Imre Kiss, Richárd Kiss, Dóri Lázár, Márk Martinkó, Tibor Nagy, Domonkos Tamás Németh, Anna Palkó, Zsombor Pólya, Miklós Pomsár, Zsófia Puszt, Benedek Regős
Schedule
11 June, Monday
Lecture # – Tamás Kaszás: Be a tourist on a design table!
time: 18:00
place: K. A. S. Galéria (1114 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 9)
18 June, Monday
Lecture #2 – Zoltán Fehérvári: The formation of Dunaújváros - struggle of modern and socreal
Lecture #3 – Annamária Nagy: IRON/WORK
time: 18:00
place: Budapest Projekt Galéria (1053 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos u. 16)
25 June, Monday
Lecture #4 – Márió Nemes Z.: Hungarofuturistic Space Fantasies
Lecture #5 – Anna Balázs: Children of Iljic: Ironworkers at the time of decommunization
time: 18:00
place: Budapest Projekt Galéria (1053 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos u. 16)
7-8 July, Saturday-Sunday
Trip to Dunaújváros – Guided city walks with Annamária Nagy
January 2019
Exhibition at ICA-D
Workshop is funded by National Cultural Fund (NKA).
Contemporary Art Center - Dunaújváros
www.ica-d.hu
New members of the Studio
On May 15, the four-member jury selected 8 new Studio members from 37 candidates. Members of the jury were Caludia Küssel, leading curator of Mai Manó House (former curator of FOAM in Amsterdam), Bálint Ferenczy, art historian, board member of FFS, Dániel János Fodor, artist, board member of FFS and Benedek Regős, photographer, visual artist, board member and secretary of FFS. The new members of FFS in 2018:
Szilvia Bolla
Gergely Kiss
Imre Kiss
Richárd Kiss
Dóri Lázár
Domonkos Tamás Németh
Zsombor Pólya
Zsófia Sivák
FFS Wednesday – 02. 05. 2018.
Mai Manó House
New generation in the gallery
– Talk with Dávid Biró and Zoltán Földvári
FFS Wednesday - 28. 02. 2018.
Judit Flóra Schuller: Memory Theatre
Judit Flóra Schuller's lecture and presentation about her current exhibition project at Labor Gallery.
The starting point of the exhibition is the artist’s family archive and the descendents’ relationship toward this rich material. The artistic research project Memory Theatre examines how the artist - as the representative of the third generation - can deal with this topic and what kind of personal approaches she can formulate toward the archival heritage. Judit Flóra Schuller deals with the mechanisms of memory and forgetting, the notions of loss and solitude. Through the artistic analyzation and interpretation of her family heritage the artist creates space for a possible dialogue between generations. Through this process, as the artist claims, both parties are going through some kind of transformation: the archive itself is reducing and moving towards a systematic order, while the artist is stepping in the phase of oblivion as she slowly abandons the process of cultivating memory. The other keyword of the exhibition is the notion of absence: this is what explains the collecting attitude of the family that had become even more stronger and conscious due to the effects of the holocaust in the family. What motivates the artist is the unreachable process of completing the void of absence, as she continues the research about her own genealogy and trying to get a closure in the process of bereavement. The exhibition unravels fragmented micro narratives through the story of the apartment which the artist inherited from her grandfather, Imre Schuller. Through the act of repetition, appropriation and performative reflections, the artist outlines different patterns in dealing with the heritage of the past. Similarly to the act of remembering and forgetting, Memory Theatre cannot exist as an accomplished entity, it is always in transition; an open conversation between time parallels, layers of history and generations.
Judit Flóra Schuller: Memory Theatre
24. 02 - 03. 03. 2018.
Labor (Képíró utca 6., Budapest, 1053)
ISBN feat. Patron books -
Christmas book market
12 - 21 December 2017
Between the 13rd and 21st of December, as the satellite program of PATRON art fair the Studio of Young Artists’ Association (FKSE) and the ISBN books+gallery* organize a joint Christmas book market. At the market, the publications of the FKSE, independent publications, zines, exhibition catalogs and other professional publications will be available for a super-discounted price. With every purchase, you support the survival of FKSE! Names and keywords: Gábor KRISTÓF | 1×1 | Andrea DUDÁS FAJGERNÉ | MAMA photobooks | Innen | Dávid DEMETER | FFS | Little Warsaw | Studio yearbooks | deposit | Anna ZILAHI | Kata TRANKER | Kisterem | Endre KORONCZI | László GYŐRFFY | László HEGEDŰS 2 | Dorottya VÉKONY | Virág LŐDI | Mózes MURÁNYI | Ilona KESERÜ Ilona | István OCZTOS and a lot of surprise.
The ISBN books+gallery is a brand new art bookstore and a contemporary art gallery. The first pop-up project of the ISBN is the PATRON books 2017. The most important mission of the ISBN books+gallery is the mapping, collecting, exhibition and distribution of domestic and regional, Hungarian and foreign language, new and antique contemporary art publications, exhibition catalogs, zines, art books, photobooks and theoretical publications.
The ISBN – books+gallery is in the 8th district of Budapest, a few minutes’ walk from Blaha Lujza Square.
Address: H-1084 Budapest, Víg utca 2.
Photos © ISBN books & gallery
In Essence
– Exhibition of the members of FFS
22 December 2016 - 09 January 2017
In Essence represents a photographic view that does not consider the attachment to reality important, and it even questions it in some cases. The exhibition moves the viewer toward a photographic direction through the different abstracting practices of young photographers. The exhibited artists freely use the technical opportunities of the medium, and consciously condense or extract the visual information. Although the works build upon reality – that is a fundamental peculiarity of the medium - , this time it is not realism we get, but its simplified extract through which artists allude to complex topics, such as the phenomena of touch, the visual representation of the invisible, the image analysis of artificial intelligence or the ruling order in chaos. One can find certain real-world references, thus the artists do not cut their works off reality, they only elevate them. These consciously simplified visual worlds on one hand offer less concrete facts, thus expand the possibilities for interpretation, and at the same time focus the attention.
Exhibiting artists: András Bán, Máté Dobokay, Dániel János Fodor, Katalin Illés, Márk Martinkó, Ping-Pong collective (Anna Ádám, Judit Gellér), Ákos Rajnai, Eszter Riga, Judit Flóra Schuller, Lilla Szántói
Opening speech by Bálint Ferenczy, art historian
Curators: Máté Dobokay, Dóra Villing
FFS at 4th ViennaPhotoBookFestival
(with Association of Hungarian Photographers)
June 11-12. 2016
Brotfabrik, Vienna
European Photo Youth 2014
August 24-31, 2014
Maribor, Slovenia
The European Photo Youth workshop was organized by the Association for Film Culture Development in Maribor, Slovenia. 12 members of FFS were participated with a polish and a slovenian group.
Participating members: Ágnes Básthy, Andrea Bényi, Dávid Biró, Máté Dobokay, Dániel János Fodor, Barnabás Neogrády-Kiss, Benedek Regős, Bianka Schumann, Lilla Szántói, Dorottya Vékony.
Mentors: Eszter Biró and Réka Kóti
Cover photo © Dániel János Fodor
Home Away
- fieldwork in New York
02-21 September, 2014
The Studio of Young Photographers Hungary is delighted to announce that we have won a grant from the Hungary Initiatives Foundation which gives us the possibility to realize a group fieldwork in New York in September 2014. Seven selected Studio members will work on a photography project about the young Hungarian diaspora living New York for three weeks. The project will be realized between 2nd and 21st of September in 2014.
During the fieldwork, the selected photographers will discover and document the young Hungarian diaspora’s generation in New York. Our proposed project rises from the idea to connect young Hungarians living in Hungary and the young Hungarian diaspora in the United Sates through a contemporary documentary photography (and videography) project. A group of selected photographers from our Studio will participate in a long term project where - after a workshop and preparatory course - they will visit young second generation Hungarian people and households in New York for a three- week period and document the lives and identity of the Hungarian community.
The goal is to provide a real experience of connection for the participating photographers and households as well as to distribute the visual material on offline and online platforms. We would like to make an exhibition in Hungary after our three weeks period project to familiarize the Hungarian diaspora in today’s Hungary, and as a result of the project we will publish a special photobook as a documentation and also as a present to those Hungarians in the diaspora who have been involved in the photography project. Besides, a website will be launched to showcase the works and share the experiences in a blog format and facilitate future similar projects.
We will also visit the International Center of Photography in New York - to learn about the great heritage of Robert Capa -, being the holder of a comprehensive collection of Robert Capa material like vintage prints, negatives, contact sheets, slides, manuscript letters, and tear sheets.
Generation X is the generation born after the Western Post-World War II baby boom from the 1960s to the 1980s, whereas the Millennial Generation, also known as Generation Y. It’s a curiosity that the term "Generation X" was coined by Robert Capa in the early 1950s. He used it later as a title for a photo-essay about young men and women growing up immediately after the Second World War. As Capa referred to his intention, "We named this unknown generation, The Generation X, and even in our first enthusiasm we realized that we had something far bigger than our talents and pockets could cope with." This time we would like to determine the new Generation Y with the help of the visual language, through documentary photography. The Studio of Young Photographers Hungary will gladly face this initiative together with its young talented photographers.
Participating members: Zsófia Pályi, Zsuzsa Bakonyi, Máté Bartha, Éva Szombat, Bálint Hirling, Dániel Halász, Bernadett Alpern
About the Hungary Initiatives Foundation:
Our mission is to build lasting value by reviving and strengthening the cultural, educational, and emotional bonds between the United States and Hungary as well as the large and diverse Hungarian American community and its mother nation. We promote cooperation and understanding between our great nations, thereby fostering democracy, freedom, human rights, and human dignity, the dearest values of our history and our peoples.
Cover photo: The group in ICP
FFS at 2nd ViennaPhotoBookFestival
June 14-15. 2014
Brotfabrik, Vienna
Brunch und Präsentation
„Studio of Young Photographers Hungary“
11-18 h, December 8, 2013
Anzenberger Gallery, Vienna
Wir laden zu einem gemütlichen Sonntagsbrunch und zur Präsentation „Studio of Young Photographers Hungary“. Gezeigt wird eine Auswahl der besten Arbeiten der wichtigsten ungarischen Gemeinschaft aufstrebender junger FotografInnen. Behandelt werden drei wichtige Themen der Community: der innere Kreis, der Bereich der dokumentarischen Repräsentation und die Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Umwelt. Neben Vortrag und Projektion gibt es zahlreiche Prints und Bücher zu sehen und zu kaufen.
Brunch mit Sekt: 11-14 Uhr, 15 Euro (Anmeldung bis 6.12 unter ida.kielmansegg@anzenbergergallery.com)
Ab 14 Uhr freier Eintritt
Präsentation „Studio of Young Photographers Hungary“ 12 Uhr und 14 Uhr
New images
08-11 November 2007
Kolta Galéria
Exhibited artists: Bartha Máté, Csepeli-Knorr Miklós, Ember Sári, Erdész Ádám, Erdős Gábor, Farkas Alíz, Halász Gabi, Hartyányi Norbert, Kapolka Gábor, Kasza Gábor, Lévai Gábor, Major Lajos, Mátray Péter, Mucsy Szilvi, Nánási László, Pók István, Raffay Réka, Simonyi Balázs, Stefler Márton, Telek Balázs, Varga Gábor Ákos, Vargha Márk Péter
Curated by Péter Baki
"Studio members tend to question the old paradigm regarding the function and means of expression of photography,… - this half a sentence does ring a bell... Yes, indeed, it was written by myself some twentythree years back in time for an anthology of Studio Members. Shall we then say that nothing has changed? Not at all; there are some real developments that deserve mentioning. For example, let us consider that during the period of 1977-84, when the photographs of the mentioned anthology were made, there was no such thing as higher education for photographers in Hungary. The Art Studio of YoungPhotographers mostly acted as a substitute for college education.Now, twenty three years later, one of our exhibitors is just finalising his college studies as photo-reporter and editor and is currently enjoying a semester as guest student in Norway. AnotherMember has obtained a master degree and opted to further expand his faculties in Greece. There is even one who himself educate others at college level and is currently in Mexico where he is undergoing an experiential tour of photography. This is how much the world together with Hungarian photography culture has changed in the past two decades. Accordingly, the role of the Studio has been shaped by time as well. It has adapted to become primarily a workshop forself-education and artistic activity. Celebrating its thirtiest anniversary, it has also just emerged from a period of organisational crisis (we can but hope that this incident is indeed a thing of the past) and will soon join its fellow organisations in their quest to live up to their functions. At last, we have lived to see the institutions of Hungarian photography slowly expand.
Studio members tend to question…- well, quite naturally, this statement is true in case of current Members as well. Some does the questioning with reliance on a rather definitive personal visual map of the world. It is warming our hearts to see the level of proficiency with which most of the current exhibitors master their means of expression. Not to mention the accuracy they show in presenting the technical details of their works (this is noteworthy although such attention to detail is mostly exhibited upon encouragement by their mentors; however such behaviour becomes routine as practiced.)
That there are some who are still in search for ways to translate their mastery of technique into photographic expression, is true.This may well remind us of a unique characteristic of photography itself: mastery of the “professional jargon” needs to precede any deeper levels of meditation. More often than not it is not easy at all to find a personal solution for the dilemma of “what is the purpose of my existence?” If we look around in the world of photography, we can clearly sense the painful absence of such questioning and even more so the lack of seeking answers. If only we could pass through this phase… As to our young photographers, of course we are only due to be patient. Nevertheless, they should consider that awareness of the need for consciously sought answers is an inevitable prerequisite of any life achievement of character.
It is to be noted that the current exhibitors seem to be more endowed with technical knowledge of their equipment than with the history of their art. From time to time the viewer comes upon photographs that remind him closely of others of older times. This is presumably not because of any intention to imitate but rather due to a lack of adequate awareness of past works or forms of expression. – Such hints of criticism may perhaps well fit into the frame of this foreword for the catalogue.
The exhibition presents us with great variety: works that are justified to be done in color, pieces that reflect a creative twist on conventional methods and others that show good sensitivity for the grotesque. There are BW pictures that indicate solid skills intoning, while others hint at abilities to build up good series. And yes, there is the temptation: viewer, this is my sovereign photographic world, step inside, give yourself over to its influence on you. And we are just happy to concede to such temptation."
Béla Albertini
Vernissage: 8 November 2007 18:53
Opening speech by György Stalter
Address: Kolta Galéria, 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 7-8. III. stairs II. floor.
Exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue titled "18:53".
Edited by Lajos Major
Text: Béla Albertini
Sponsored by National Cultural Fund (NKA), Hungarian Museum of Photography, Demax Művek Kft.
Invitation
Photo © Péter Mátray: Untitled 1.
