Gábor Király (1979) is one of the most prominent middle-generation artists of contemporary Hungarian painting. His painterly oeuvre, which has been consistently constructed for almost twenty years, can best be compared to the traditions and topicality of figurative painting. His paintings, with their peculiar atmosphere, are a unique blend of early Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance painting, as well as reminiscences of African tribal art. The timelessness of his painterly universe is enhanced almost to the extreme by his preference for painting on the wooden surfaces of “found” objects (such as wine barrels, railway sleepers, bed frame headboards) or on the support base of old burlap, carpets and other historic textiles, rather than on sterile, industrially produced canvases. His compositions are also enriched by the history and past of the materials and found objects he chooses to use. Often giving the impression of fragments of frescoes, the characteristically “worn and tattered” surface of his works is the result of a technique he developed. This technique is defined by the use of a powerful water jet to wash away the layers of acrylic paste applied to the surface, gently abrading the material just enough to highlight its texture.

 

The most common themes in his compositions revolve around the close, interconnected relationships between landscape, nature, and human life. These are explored through a mix of realistic and fictional motifs, using a color palette limited to a few tones, and sometimes incorporating the late medieval grisaille technique. The use of color, occasionally enhanced with an additional hue to evoke the effect of shading, lends his works a visionary quality. His art does not seek to depict landscapes or figures in precise botanical or zoological detail. Instead, animals shaped by imagination, along with figures straddling the line between reality and vision, are always shown in motion, going about their daily routines. His paintings offer the viewer vivid, life-like glimpses of an illusionary world.

 

The title and theme of this exhibition are inspired by the concept of the biotope. This space, inhabited and used by living organisms, can be defined as an environment where organisms can survive and reproduce under specific conditions. A biotope includes all the factors that shape a habitat, such as soil composition, water quality, air temperature, and humidity. Organisms adapt to the biotope of their environment, living in harmony with its conditions. However, the idea of a biotope is often linked to that of habitat and/or natural environment. While "habitat" typically refers to the community of individuals living in a specific area, "biotope" is a broader term that encompasses the set of conditions affecting the quality of life for organisms in a given space. Biotopes can be diverse—forests, fields, deserts, or bodies of water are all examples, each with its own unique conditions and living biota. Similarly to Gábor Király’s works, which also present the viewer with a habitat where, as a common theme, the undeniable interconnectedness of nature and all its creatures is revealed, whether the scene depicts a landscape, a courtyard, or even a small corner of a room.

 

 

//Mónika Zsikla//