In Benczúr’s art, texts and short slogans play a prominent role, which, through their unique technique and use of materials, form a special relationship, revealing the complexity of his works.
The exhibition The Call Of Duty focuses on invisible domestic work and the notion of “duty”, which is also a reflection on the artist’s thesis work I am fulfilling my duty (1995), where he embroidered the title phrase on a curtain strap repetitively over a whole semester. While the focus of Benczúr’s early works was on mantra-like repetitive inscriptions in the first person singular, often functioning as titles, this has now changed and he has recently been implementing meditative repetition by returning to the inscriptions and concepts repeatedly and revisiting the phrases and action sequences that create the works.
In his latest exhibition, his use of repetitive texts can be interpreted as a symbol of the never-ending chore. He always chooses his materials with great care; sometimes the text comes first, sometimes the material inspires the work, but the exhibition venue also influences the final result. The materials of the works presented in the current exhibition, linked to the concept of the exhibition, are all tools of domestic work that take on a new function as art objects. Various coloured, shiny sponges, shaving brushes, patterned shopping bags, flour sacks serve as the basis for the works, on which the word duty is used to formulate differently differently the sentences of exhortation, self-reflexive texts and inscriptions. These materials and techniques contextualise women’s work and its invisibility, while creating a powerful aesthetic and conceptual impact.
Emese Benczúr’s work often reflects on current social and political events in the world. And the sentences in glittering letters are also a response to reality, a conscious effort to create a more optimistic, positive narrative in her work.
The exhibition The Call Of Duty explores the relationship, parallels, balance and invisibility of women’s work, all through subtly ironic and aesthetically arresting solutions.