Retroactive

Frigyes Kőnig established a scientific collection. The basis of the collection is accessibility, an honest curiosity and, in addition, art (history) as the free association of objects. This is how it is possible that topographies of movement, the fragile structures of crabs, baroque illusionism and the heart rending documents on the deviations of the human body, could be juxtaposed. Konig’s painting and graphic works show his creative attitude, which, searching for the secret essence, can only be directed towards the completeness of art (“measure yourself against the universe”), and thus anything can be taken away, rewritten or omitted at any time from this great series. It paraphrases earlier periods of style, so that at the same time it touches the artist’s possible attitude, acceptable today. The lesson of his art is that time does not separate things, but makes dealing with them worthwhile. The way through is unimpeded, alienation is not inevitable and the condition of comprehension is attentiveness.

The exhibition is a comprehensive presentation of the artist’s oeuvre to date. The research into time-space-perspective, which started in the eighties, led to ever more complicated compositions in the mid-nineties, right up to the Bathers series. Representative works from the series Eszter, Quodlibet, the Literary portraits and Childhood monuments in the exhibition, come from private and public collections. The graphic plates (from the Orbis pictus book and the Madmen lithographs), the Art Book, the map of Budapest fortifications, complete the art material. Together with the scientific collection.