Chianciano Art Museum
Critical Analysis Artist: Igor Prokop Art Critic: Karen Lappon
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
Critical Analysis Artist: Igor Prokop Art Critic: Karen Lappon
The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art. There are approximately a thousand works on display. Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt. The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504
Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
The Critic
Karen Lappon, born in Santander, Spain, is an Italian art critic and essay writer that operates in London, UK. Although an expert on the Italian Renaissance period, Lappon is also great admirer of contemporary art. Karen studied at the “I Liceo Artistico in Via Ripetta” and at the “La Sapienza” University in Rome. A book of great interest curated by Karen is the “2nd Millenium”, the publication of an important exhibition at the Lord Leighton Museum, in which the talent and art of the prominent painter, Frances Turner - selected 5 times in a row for the BP Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London - is highlighted. This artist has been spotted and appreciated by another great critic, Normal Searle, that wrote an article in the Evening Standard on one of Frances’ paintings. “Vita e Opere di Antonio Sbrana” is a publication in which Lappon ties the activity of Sbrana and his influences on the “Macchiaioli” of the 19th century, like Natali and Fattori. A publication that illustrates the continuity of this movement and how it is still present in Italy today. Besides being a consultant for the Chianciano Museum of Art, Karen Lappon is part of the Board that selects artists for the Biennale, a difficult task that she has undertaken since 2009, along with other curators, to choose 100 artists out of 2000 applicants that will be part of the Chianciano Biennale. Karen is part of the jury of the London Biennale where 120 artists, selected from 40 different countries participate, and has been chosen by the organisers to accompany the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea during the opening of the biennale.
Aquila Non Captat Musicas by Igor Prokop
The Artist
Igor Prokop was born in Budapest in 1953. He graduated from the Teacher Training College in Eger as a teacher of Biology and drawing in 1978. He studied Biology at Jozsef Attila University of Arts between 1981 and 1983 in Szeged, then philosophy in 1984 in Budapest, film aesthetics in 1987 and between 1991 and 1993 he studied design at the University of Applied Arts. Igor studied and worked in New York, Heidelberg, Auckland and several other places of the world. Besides painting and drawing he has worked with glass as well for 20 years. The surfaces, panels and pictures reflect the natural forms seen during the author’s trips through the eyes of a biologistartist. His trips: - 1984 Cuba - 1985 Mongolia, Caucasus - 1989 USA, New York and Walhalla - 1993 Germany, Heidelberg - 1995 France, Paris - 1996 Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Polinesia, USA - 1997 Ireland, Scotland - 1998 Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, USA - 1999 Ireland, Portugal, Madeira - 2000 Florida, Canada Ireland - 2001 New Zealand, Canada, USA - New York - 2002 New Zealand, Tonga Nukualofa - 2003 New Zealand, Vanuatu - Port Villa - 2004 New Zealand, Portugal, Canada - 2005 New Zealand, Tunisi. Igor exhibited in several individual and group exhibitions all around the world: Budapest, Graz, Barcelona, Eger, New York, Berlin, Kecskemét, Heidelberg, Salzburg, Debrecen, Visegrád, Toronto, Luxemburg, Dublin, Montreal, London, Chianciano, Munich, among the others. At present he lives and works in Visegrád.
Genetic Revolution by Igor Prokop
The Critique Igor Prokop is an outstandingly pure abstract painter whose creative core is centred around the relationship between man and nature and their evolution within a ‘natural order’, uniting all aspects of the physical world that surround us: science, art, music, history and the environment. His works express the full power of abstract painting where colours, lines and shapes blend together in a captivating interpretation of the artist’s inner essential feelings. This translates into a type of personal signifier, or language, expressed through a kaleidoscopic mass of colour exploding across his canvases and reminding us of American II generation abstract expressionists Joan Mitchell and Frank Stella and Chilean Roberto Matta. Verve and panache mingle together in a multitude of vibrant colours that combined with the richness of the compositions and elaborate lines, create lyrical images that depict Igor’s sensitive outlook on life and connect forcefully with the instinctual recesses of the viewer’s own subconscious mind. Igor’s use of intense, lively and vivid colours create movement and dynamism within his paintings that combined with the complexity and intricacy of the lines, give his works a unique perspective and understanding of the world of abstract art. Man, nature and eroticism, with all their complexities and convolutions, are the main themes that characterise Igor’s subjects and testify his curiosities and concerns about the evolving future of the universe. Prokop is an exceptionally talented artist, with a forceful drive that emerges in all its clarity throughout his paintings. His amazing artistic ability and rich imagination relieve the viewer from the dominant, rational norms of considering and thinking about art. On the contrary, one must experience his works and enjoy them at a completely visceral level, to fully capture the intrinsic beauty and importance of his works. Igor is truly a gift to the world of modern art.
Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics
Meet Joe Black by Igor Prokop
Birth of a Bird by Igor Prokop
International Confederation of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org