Zsófia Keresztes and Zsófia Antalka have composed their special duo exhibition for the acb Plus space. The Minotaur is the second exhibition of Zsófia Keresztes and the debut exhibition of Zsófia Antalka at acb Gallery. Although the two artists work in different media, their extremely meticulous surface treatment puts them on the same platform. While in Keresztes’ case, the former is most marked by the coloured glass mosaics that cover her sculptures, Antalka weaves monumental curtains from tiny beads. Zsófia Keresztes’s sculptures evoke a sense of monolithic, earthbound idols with their masses and the human figures that loom within them, while Antalka’s curtains create an illusion of weightlessness and airiness in acb Plus. As can be seen from the above, the two artists compose in different registers, yet in their joint exhibition their works enter into a subtle dialogue with each other and organically complement each other through their contrasting harmonies.
During the creative process, the two artists not only reflected on the same theme, but their collaboration also resulted in joint works of art. The starting point for their reflections is the Knossos labyrinth of Greek mythology and the figure of Minotaur trapped inside it. Keresztes and Antalka have appropriated the mythological framework, imbued with masculine aggression throughout cultural history, for their own feminine positions, thus transforming the labyrinth into a symbolic space of female roles. The labyrinth is an important image in contemporary feminist discourse, which, in contrast to the illusion of linear development, makes us aware of how women’s trajectories are forced into continuous detours and dead ends.
Although the half-bull, half-man Minotaur does not appear specifically in the exhibition space, the logic of the exhibition is built on the contrasts of his figure. The aggressive character of the mythical creature is counterpointed by the artists’ sensitive technical solutions. Several of Keresztes’s new sculptures translate the culturally historical masculine motifs of the tie and the shirt into feminine symbols, which are transformed into heads with headscarved heads and mermaids under his hands. Zsófia Antalka’s huge, yet delicate beaded curtain is in fact the snarling row of teeth that dominates the overall image of the gallery. The relief of the roaring pharynx behind her also reinforces this reading.
The contrasts also define the new striking colours of the works. The grouting of Zsófia Keresztes’ sculptures is a red-blue combination, while Zsófia Antalka’s bead curtains are dominated by the same colours. The blue and red skirts patterned by Keresztes are filled in by Zsófia Antalka’s beaded curtains as a kind of delicate inner skirt. In the exhibition space, the skirt garters can also be read as subconscious stalagmites of female representation.
The exhibited works of Zsófia Keresztes and Zsófia Antalka are both about contrasts, harmony, their common anatomical interest, aggression, subtlety, mania, repression and above all the importance of dialogue and balance. The deeper we wander into the airy labyrinth of the exhibition space, the less it seems that there are any contradictions that the dynamics of the clashes cannot resolve.