“We become voyeurs in a landscape without people, in a deserted urban environment, looking at István Regős’s paintings” – writes art historian Katalin Kopin. The artist combines elements of surrealism, naive-expressive, absurd-grotesque and pop-art, evoking historical-eclectic nostalgia, but also drawing on metaphysical painting and magical realist imagery.
His art depicts historical periods, past times, by painting a typical building, urban detail, means of transport, typical utensils or paraphrases of art history (so-called “hommage” images). However, István Regős is not only interested in the plane of the image, in traditional panel painting, but also in the third dimension, in the world of objects. He creates collages, applies different materials and objects to his paintings, but also assemblages and installations.
In the exhibition at the Hegyvidék Gallery, in addition to recent paintings, the public will also be able to see emblematic works from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. István Regős, who turns 70 this year, views the world from the position of a Central and Eastern European artist, revealing the values and spirit of Eastern and Western Europe through his works. The objects and motifs on display have symbolic meanings, which often lead the viewer into a world of absurdity through the artist’s free association of images.