Péter Ujházi: Labyrinth

The Várfok Gallery’s next large-scale exhibition will be a presentation of the work of Péter Ujházi (b. 1940, Székesfehérvár/H). Ujházi was one of the Várfok Gallery’s first exhibitors in June 1991 and has had 13 solo exhibitions at the Gallery to date.
The exhibition, to be held in both the Várfok Gallery and Várfok Project Room, concentrates on the first years of Ujházi’s career, his emblematic artistic periods, and shows the artist’s diverse use of materials.

Ujházi’s oeuvre is unbroken for over 40 years. He has presented his unique motifs, figures and locations in an individual way since the beginning of his artistic career without following any trends. Although his diverse artistic activities which include paintings, collages, graphics, watercolours, assemblages and artist books, as well as wooden, ceramic and iron sculptures, one can observe that his specific artistic world, formed in the 1970s, has not changed substantially over the years.

The basic, narrative character of his works is strengthened by different texts and inscriptions which appear on the works. The particular, multi-perspective view of his paintings and their special spatiality led the artist immediately into creating boxes and sculptures. In the stage-like world of his boxes and clay sculptures the two dimensional figures of the paintings come to life. However, the basic characteristics of his oeuvre, such as lightness and playfulness and, on the other hand, a grotesque world vision and critical approach are also present. His foliage painting series, which has been an important part of the artist’s oeuvre since the late 1960s, are witness to the joyful experience of painting, and are characterised by the same expressive colours and gestural brushwork as can be observed in his narrative paintings.

Ujházi’s works evoke typical locations of everyday life, such as the artist’s hometown, Székesfehérvár, his studio in Budapest and the small town of Nadap in Fejér country, as well as metropolises like New York or Lisbon, the destinations of his adventurous journeys. Each exhibited artwork present us with a separate little world, but the artist’s distinctive style and narrative connects every story, whether it be an historical event or an event from everyday life. This organic oeuvre is what makes Péter Ujházi a remarkable force within the Hungarian contemporary art scene.