My name is Zsolt Szakállas. I was born in Miskolc in 1965, and I live and work in Emőd. My artistic style in painting is abstract expressionism; in poetry, it is surrealism. I love the mysteries of existence and the dramaturgy of the other world.
My journey in the visual arts began with a work by Joan Miró. I spent hours looking at a photograph of it and couldn’t get enough of it. And since I’m self-taught, I took a canvas, stretched it, and created the first surrealist painting of my life. Later, my traditionally styled poems were transformed into surrealist works through reading and studying the great masters of surrealism.
Following that, my painting style also changed, as I was exploring a great deal of abstract expressionism around that time. I must say that the evolution of my work has been built upon stages marked by suffering.
It has been a long journey to get here, but it was worth it. The shadowed corridor I walked through eventually led to the light. Countless poems, prose poems, and paintings were born as a result. Nevertheless, my paintings blend somber colors with cheerful hues and childlike playfulness, along with authentic brushstrokes.
Even if our abilities — or the world itself — were to elevate us to the very pinnacle, let us never forget that there is a higher power that can take all of this away. But this same higher power also protects us and inspires us. Some of my paintings and writings convey these very inspirations.
My paintings reveal their titles after I finish painting them, which is an incredibly interesting process. Tapping into my subconscious was no easy task, but in the end, it was worth the effort. Because we are parts of the whole and wholes within the part.