Familiar. Taken for granted.
While the mention of an artwork most often brings painting on canvas to mind, paper has become one of the formative materials of artistic practice in the twentieth century. When we read the word paper, a white sheet appears before us: a field of possibilities, an extended plane divided by the very first line of pen, brush, or pencil. A multifaceted medium, cardboard, Japanese paper, tracing paper, and mould-made paper each give rise to distinct modes of expression. Paper may gently guide the delicate touch of graphite or ink, or, with its more robust surface, eagerly absorbs layers of paint. The group exhibition PAPER? WORKS! at the Várfok Gallery places this remarkable material at the center of its inquiry.
A wide range of emotions is associated with works on paper. The intimacy that stems from its everyday nature and the caution prompted by its fragility generate a compelling tension around the medium. The reproductive printmaking techniques – lithography, drypoint, etching, and monotype – open new paths in the cartography of paper-based artistic practice.
For many of the artists presented, paper is not merely a surface for sketches or a preliminary stage for ideas, but an authentic and autonomous artistic material. Endre Rozsda and Françoise Gilot frequently employed watercolor and printmaking techniques alongside pencil and ink in their works on paper. This material accompanied their artistic trajectories throughout, allowing different creative periods to unfold and resonate across the sheets. In the works of István Pető and aatoth franyo, an abstracted vision of nature emerges: gardens and lakes, untamed jungles, vivid and vibrating color compositions or monochromatic experiments guide the viewer into meditative spaces where the relationship between observer and environment is articulated. László Mulasics, János Szirtes, and El Kazovszkij, all prominent figures of the 1980s, frequently experimented with paper-based works, combining collage, printmaking, and mixed media. The aesthetic subjectivism and identity exploration characteristic of the period, a close engagement with cultural-historical traditions, and pluralism resonate strongly throughout their practices. Péter Ujházi’s bittersweet historical compositions, the circus of life, and the beauty of everyday existence unfold as a social scene in which the pub and the village, past and present, merge into a single, laughter-filled yet stormy reality. The werewolves and navigators of Sándor Rácmolnár propel us away from pictorial realism and guide us into complex territories of sign, form, and metaphor. In Anna Nemes’ watercolor portraits, with their soft, patch-like figures, they reveal the foundational gestures of their painterly practice, while László Győrffy’s overflowing, proliferating, posthumanist graphics awaken visceral sensations and latent fears. The meticulous works of keserű Károly Keserü and Ferenc Forrai offer compelling examples of the encounter between geometric abstraction and graphic practice, where the interplay of material and sign constitutes the internal logic of the works.
With Paper? Works!, the exhibition surveys the horizon of paper’s possibilities and explores what art can do – on paper.
Exhibited artists: AATOTH franyo, FORRAI Ferenc, Françoise GILOT, GYŐRFFY László, El KAZOVSZKIJ, keserű Károly KESERÜ, MULASICS László, NEMES Anna, PETŐ István, RÁCMOLNÁR Sándor, ROZSDA Endre, SZIRTES János, UJHÁZI Péter