The Deák Erika Galéria presents the latest paintings of Levente Baranyai, who has just turned 60, in its upcoming exhibition.
With his new series, Baranyai continues to explore the impacts of the Anthropocene geological epoch, in which current political events also play a significant role. While his previous series—immersed in flower fields—was a reaction to nearby wars, Angels of Power boldly confronts challenges such as the destruction of rainforests, emissions caused by warfare, and the unsustainability of fossil fuels. Through the medium of painting, he creates a snapshot of the present, conveying the consequences of certain decisions almost in real time.
The landscapes—precisely planned yet intuitively executed, built up from thick layers of paint—reflect on the relationship between humans and nature in a way that can be read as both hopeful and pessimistic. At times, nature takes control over the artificial; at others, human creations dominate the natural world. The series that gives the exhibition its title depicts abandoned weapons of mass destruction in former Soviet territories, shown in the environments where they were left behind. Viewed from Baranyai’s characteristic aerial perspective, these machines resemble childlike toys or totemic creatures with skull-like faces.
The Amazon rainforest is a central theme in several works, highlighting the intense exploitation of its natural resources—and of its indigenous populations—since the 19th century. The felled trees in Baranyai’s paintings evoke a landscape covered in scars, as if the surface itself had been wounded. Observing these works makes it clear that the destruction of our environment ultimately means the destruction of ourselves.
Levente Baranyai has been devoted to painting for nearly 40 years, and for the past three decades he has employed his now well-known technique of richly textured, thickly layered oil paint surfaces. His work consistently presents images of both natural and societal decay in a form that creates tension for the viewer: while the aesthetic execution is visually captivating, the subject matter and its implications go far beyond mere beauty. His artistic stance is unmistakable—through his oeuvre, he offers a faithful reflection of the current state of our world.