Duration of the exhibition: 3rd of November 2023 – 13th of January 2023
Opening: Friday, 3rd of November 2023, 6 p.m., the ground floor of the Transylvanian Art Centre
The exhibition was opened by Beáta Bordás, art historian and Gábor Vida, writer and editor.
The short biography of the artist:
Levente HERMAN (b. Târgu Mureș, 1976) during the period 1990–1994 was a student at the Highschool of Fine Arts and Music from Târgu Mureș, continuing his studies, between 1995 and 2000, at the Department of Graphic Arts of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts from Budapest. From 2001 to 2004 he participated in the Regional Talent Scout Program, where he was an assistant lecturer at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. Between 2008–2012 he taught visual education at the Department of Business Management with Arts of the International Business School from Budapest. He has been an exhibiting artist since 1997, organizing solo exhibitions since the early 2000s. He is a co-founder of the Élesd Artists’ Colony, and he’s a member of the MAMŰ Society. He has been a member of the artistic circle of Várfok Gallery from Budapest since 2007, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions and art fairs from Hungary and abroad represented by the gallery. His works can be found in the collection of the Hungarian National Gallery, the Frissiras Museum of Athens, the 21c Museum (Louisville, USA), as well as in private collections from the United States (Miami, New York), China, England, Italy, Germany, Hungary and Romania.
One of the central concerns of his work is home-seeking, mostly depicting the nostalgic scenes of the Transylvanian childhood and adolescence, as well as the corollaries of the alienated urban life. In his figurative, usually large-scale paintings, realistic representation intermingles with surreal, suggestive or even playful, incongruous, out of place elements. Through the visible elements, the artist evokes the reality of the emptiness of our everyday lives.
Solo exhibitions:
1999: Bercsényi Gallery, Budapest • 2002: Tibor Ernő Gallery, Oradea • 2003: Hajófenék, Budapest • 2004: Másolatok [Copycats], MAMŰ Gallery, Budapest; Szieszta [Siesta], Kis-Küküllő Gallery (former synagogue), Târnăveni • 2005: Folyékony föld [Liquid Earth], Almássy Square Leisure Centre, Budapest; Bocskai Room of the Diaconal Home, Târgu Mureș • 2006: Az első vacsora [First Dinner], Sparks Gallery for Emerging Artists, Budapest; Tranzit [Transit], Hilton Budapest West End • 2007: Vázlatok magánhadsereghez [Sketches for a Private Army], Klub Gallery, Budapest; Front (with Zsuzsi Csiszér and Raymonde Phillips), The Fat Badger Gallery, London • 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023: Várfok Gallery, Budapest • 2008: joint exhibition with Ray Monde and Mathias Schauwecker, Hungarian Institute, Paris • 2009: Wall, Hong Zi Lan Gallery, Peking • 2010: Vázlatok magánhadsereghez [Sketches for a Private Army], Hungarian Institute, Tallinn • 2011: Input, MAMŰ Gallery, Budapest • 2012: Second Hand, Korunk Studio Gallery, Cluj-Napoca; Second Hand, Pál Auction House and Gallery, Miercurea Ciuc; Zónák [Zones], M21 Gallery, Pécs • 2013: Tranzit [Transit] (with Zoltán Szőcs Zörgő), Palace of Culture, Târgu Mureș; Elveszett világok [Lost Worlds] (with Sándor Szász), Zorzini Gallery, Bucharest; Brand New Second Hand, Edward Cutler Gallery, Milan • 2015: Úton [On the Road], KERT Gallery, Szolnok; Adeline Gallery, Budapest • 2016: MIKSZ, Sárospatak Gallery • 2017, 2022: Várfok Project Room, Budapest • 2019: A kéreg ritmusa [The Rhythm of the Bark], Új Kriterion Gallery, Miercurea Ciuc • 2020: Frikció [Friction] (with Martin C. Herbst), Gallery of the Austrian Cultural Forum, Budapest; HOME, Palace of Culture, Târgu Mureș • 2021: Harghita County Gallery, Miercurea Ciuc (with Árpád Szabó) • 2022: Emberek [People], Várfok Project Room, Budapest • 2023: Beépített természet [Built-in Nature], Várfok Gallery, Budapest; Vízözön [Flood], Limes Gallery, Komárno
Brief description of the exhibition:
This exhibition offers a selection of the painter's favourite themes and series, starting with the oldest painting, New Paradise Project (2007), continuing with pieces from the Last Supper (2015) and Private Life (2021) series, and moving on to more recent works such as Blackout (2022) and Forest (2023). The works presented are mostly related to the concept and atmosphere of concrete, which in this context becomes a metaphor. This idea is also supported by the "artificial concrete" elements in the exhibition spaces.
The exhibition is accompanied by a trilingual catalogue with a foreword by Gábor VIDA, in the usual sophisticated design.
Organisers:
Town Hall of Sfântu Gheorghe
Transylvanian Art Center Association
Sponsors:
Bethlen Gábor Fund
Várfok Gallery, Budapest
