Péter Menasági: „Fénnyel érő sűrü csend”
Hommage à S. G.
Péter Menasági: „Fénnyel érő sűrü csend”
Hommage à S. G.
Opening: Wednesday, 21 May 2025, 18:00
Opened by: Tibor Iski Kocsis, painter, curator, and artistic director of VILTIN Gallery
Musical performance: Panda
Exhibition dates: 22 May – 5 June 2025, weekdays from 10:00 to 18:00
Venue: Parthenón-fríz Hall, Epreskert, Hungarian University of Fine Arts (1063 Budapest, Kmety György Street 26–28)
“dense silence reached by light”
(János Pilinszky: Midnight Bath)
My deep connection to nature not only sets the tone of my life but has also become a fundamental source of inspiration in my sculptural practice. The experience of nature and the cyclical coexistence with it have opened avenues for perceiving transcendence, which, through my art, has transformed into content to be expressed. In my sculpture, I strive to capture the hidden reality, the essence beneath the surface. My aim is to convey the transcendent Absolute manifested in Nature (Physis) in a form that aids us in approaching our true selves.
Since moving to the countryside in 2007, my focus has shifted to a closer relationship with nature, gradually turning my interest toward observable natural phenomena and traditions associated with rural life. This significant shift transformed my mindset and approach to sculpture. The noisy world of industrial infrastructure was replaced by a quiet, introspective creative process. The use of natural materials—particularly various types of wood—and the application of traditional tools and woodworking techniques have opened new horizons in contemporary sculpture.
The use of traditional materials and handcrafted techniques, along with the depiction of everyday events and significant memories stemming from rural life, and the reinterpretation of peasant material culture through its incorporation into contemporary art, are closely associated with the art of Géza Samu in modern Hungarian sculpture. This personal experience-based, unique creative method was prominent in his work and yielded significant results. During my creative period from 2007 to 2017, I found a strong resonance with Géza Samu's artistic vision and sculptural thinking, experiencing his perspective and artistic attitude through my own practice. This exhibition partly pays tribute to Géza Samu, more precisely to his worldview and nature-centric sculptural activity. The exhibition titled "Dense Silence Reached by Light – Hommage à S. G." held in the Parthenón-fríz Hall and the Calvary at Epreskert, features works created during the aforementioned period. These pieces align with my doctoral research themes: "Application of Traditional Techniques in Contemporary Sculpture" and "Nature–Human–Art," placing these sculptures in a unique context as a cohesive unit.
In addition to creating a new sculpture closely related to the nature of these works, I am essentially reinterpreting my earlier sculptures; partially augmenting them, placing them in installation contexts, and—since they have not been exhibited together in this form before—presenting them collectively to reveal new connections in the sculptural articulation of transcendence in nature. Furthermore, through the connection and similarity of the materials and techniques used, I organize the works created over ten years into a coherent whole. As a result, I hope that during their reception, the objects will intertwine into a complex narrative through the multiple interrelated threads, allowing the various solutions and content layers to lead continuously back to each other. In addition to shared thematic references, such as light, sun disk, landscape, liquids (water and oil), horizontal and vertical orientations, different types of wood, peasant craftsmanship techniques, wooden troughs, wheat, straw, sounds-noises, etc., these elements contribute to the cohesive experience.
Dr. habil. Péter Menasági DLA, Munkácsy Prize-winning sculptor, Associate Professor, Hungarian University of Fine Arts (MKE)
