Dénes Maróti: Landscapes and the Self
Landscapes and the Self features new and recent work by Hungarian artist Dénes Maróti. Held at Fiumano Clase from 8 June - 8 July, the exhibition places Maroti's abstract landscapes in dialogue with his raw and emotionally charged self-portraits.
Maróti’s paintings of landscapes explore the notion that, like human beings, landscapes too change over time. Heavy on gestural brush-strokes, Maróti’s landscapes evoke memories of a time and place, rather than depicting realistic terrains. Image repetition is also key, and Maróti uses light and dark to show how differently the same location can appear at various stages of the day.
Similarly, Maróti’s abstracted figures, which appear to be influenced by Francis Bacon, are more concerned with memory and self-expression over reality. Though much of his
practice is rooted in tradition and his work strewn with classical imagery, Maróti’s portraits are not naturalistic. It is this juxtaposition between unpredictability
and control that results in enigmatic
work that draws the viewer in.
The exhibitions focuses on Maróti’s
painting process, with the landscape and portraits serving as vehicles
for experimentation and transformation. Maróti uses a
combination of brushes, palette knife and his own hands to apply and remove
paint - rubbing and texturing the surface of his work. The application and
removal of paint suggests layers of memory which intensify and fade away.
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| Dénes Maróti, Landscape of Balaton at Midday, Oil on canes, 30 x 40cm |