EXPLORERS – Debut exhibition of the Budapest Art Mentor Program

Lifelong learning, community brainstorming, creativity and invention, researches followed by experiments and discoveries – these are the keywords of science, however, they are just as defining when it comes to contemporary art.

After the great styles and movements, the “-isms” like dada, modern, postmodern and conceptual art, we are living in the age of new discoveries again. What is the form and method through which artists are able to express their emotions and thoughts, their discoveries and wonderment? How can they reach their audience, while – besides given an array of new tools -, due to technical developments, they are in competition with artificial intelligence, robotics and computer science?        

We have to face a great challenge: today, a machine is capable of painting a perfectly lifelike portrait. Technology does not only have an impact on our everyday lives, but on fine art as well. What does it mean today to be a painter, a sculptor or even a photographer? Are disciplines still divided into strict categories, or is intermediality much more common nowadays?

The exhibition Explorers presents a selection of works that revolve around astronomy, the issue of sight and perception, the shaping of space or digital imaging, all while pushing the boundaries of traditional media. Marina Sztefanu recreates a forgotten Eden in the Great Hall of the Ybl House – in the same space you will find the works of Éva Szakál, a series of paintings entitled Browser which simply could not be more inspired by the 21st century. Előd Orbán’s works are dancing on the edge with the traditional visual appearance and tools of (stone) sculpture, while Kata Gaál consciously amalgamates a number of various technical solutions in her grand piece. In the cellar of the exhibition space you will find works centered around the levels of human perception by Péter Mátyási, Zsófia Ádám and Katinka Hajas. Besides her well-known geometric objects, Judit Horváth Lóczi will exhibit her outdoor sculptures for the first time.           

Explorers is not only about the ever-changing world surrounding us, but about the relationship of art and science as well: Loránd Szécsényi-Nagy’s installation is a memorial to the different depictions of the sky across different eras.    

The artists of the exhibition are the members of the Budapest Art Mentor Program’s first class.

The aim of the Budapest Art Mentor Program is to support talented artists in gaining exposure both in their home country and abroad. During the one-year program, they have the chance to learn and practice methods that can help them jump-start their professional career. Being successful in their respective fields, our lecturers pass down both theoretical and up-to-date practical knowledge about the operating structures of the contemporary art world including the most significant organizations and actors as well as career models and the essential tools of career building. Personal orientation and discovering possible opportunities is carried out by working together closely and regularly with mentors. At the end of the first year, besides the considerable material and practical knowledge, artists’ attitudes towards building their own career have changed noticeably – they are more courageous and more prepared to take the road towards international success.          

Creativity and free thinking – the debut exhibition of nine young Hungarian artists of the Budapest Art Mentor Program in the Ybl Creative House in Buda.

Bálint Ferenczy, curator of the exhibition

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