Our exhibition presents Dominika Trapp’s paintings and early drawings in dialogue with the graphic works of Dezső Tandori. In addition to his work as a writer and literary translator, Dezső Tandori is less known for his many drawings, poems and illustrations. The graphic material in the exhibition has been selected from the collection of Balázs Pándi, who came into close contact with the writer’s diverse visual activities and became a collector of his prints through his research into Tandori’s unique record collection.
“From the early autumn of 1979 onwards, our birds had little tolerance for close-up photography, and it became a case of ‘distant’ neither: they shied away from the camera. Things have always been like that with me, (…), the personal nature of my relationships has become like that; but cinema, restaurants, etc., have also become like that (with us, or for us). And isn’t that natural? What kind of scene book should I appear in (here or there)? Do I know (acknowledge) such an archive (the richness of which I should take care of?) – do I not know a very special one? One that is interested in my seemingly meaningless situations; and does not record, but continues…” (Dezső Tandori: Don’t shoot at the sitting bird! Kozmosz Könyvek, Budapest, 1982)
The exhibition of works by the two artists is an attempt to continue. More precisely, it detects continuity in Dominika Trapp’s drawings, which reflect the influence of an early encounter with Tandori’s oeuvre.