RÁKÖZELÍTÉS (ZOOM IN) Hogy alaposan megtekintsük és meg is értsük Zoltán Béla újabb sorozatát, azt javasolom, hogy a képek vizuális felmérésében ne a szemlélődő szem eszközét használjuk, mert az a távoltartás mágiájával mér fel, hanem a nagyítólencse szemét, hogy általa egy olyan világba hatolhassunk be, amelynek részleteit csak a művész uralja. Ez egy aprólékos, egyirányú világ – a részleteké. Zoltán Béla tekintete rendelkezik a zoom in (a ráközelítés) automatikus erejével, így a vizuális tapasztalat megsokszorozódik. A javasolt kísérlet, az, hogy jobban megértsük a dolgokat – intim kapcsolatba kerülve a részleteikkel – csak úgy valósul meg teljes gazdagságában, hogy a művész a valóság képeiből kivágásokat készít, s ezek a ráközelítések tükrözik alkotójuk választásait, egyéni hangsúlyait. Nehéz újraépíteni azt az egészet, amelyből a művész kijelöli a részletet. Ily módon, ha nem sikerül azonosítani az alkotója által követett utat, az új valóságkép könnyen nem-képnek tűnhet. A keresett részlet felfedezése természetes következménye a belső megtapasztalásnak, egy lelkiállapotnak, egy életérzésnek. A művész szeme betájol, kiválasztja a részletet, értelme feldolgozza, kivágja, majd elrendezi a ráközelítés eredményeit: gyárkapuk, városrészek, metróállomások vagy rozsdás vaskerítések részleteit. Mindezek bonyolult vizuális atlaszát képezik alkimista alkotójuknak, akinek ihlete mindenütt tetten érhető: a válogatásban, a kompozícióban, a képek kivitelezésében. Festészete intuitív, felszabadult és egyben felszabadító. Zoltán Béla ösztönösen rendezi el a kivágott képet, melyből vagy kihagyja a figuratívat, vagy behozza, de újrafogalmazza, premierplánba állítja azt. Arról vall, hogy szeret kutatni: olyan urbánus részleteket, melyekben együttléteznek a felismerhető (figuratív) alakzatok a tiszta festészeti (absztrakt) felületekkel. A vizuális megismerés és teremtés folyamatában a művész ráközelít a képre, újjáépíti azt és megpróbálja új képpé alakítani. Ennek a sorozatnak első alkotásai három évvel ezelőtt születtek valóságdarabokként – ahogy a kimetszett képeket alkotójuk nevezi. Ily módon válik a művész a kimetszések rendezőjévé, amikor keze ösztönösen irányítja ecsetét a vásznon: a kéz fest, miközben a tudat kikapcsol. Ez a megfestett világ közel áll hozzánk. Zoltán Béla részletei szorosan kapcsolódnak „ráközelítőkészülékéhez”, fáradhatatlanul kutató szemeihez, belső látásához. Egy másik sikeres kísérlete után, amikor akriláttűnéseket rögzített papírra, Zoltán Béla megtalálta azt a szabadságot, amelyre szomjazott. Láthatjuk, hogy alig használ ecsetet: a festékrétegeket festőhengerrel, festékszóróval, festőkéssel, csepegtetéssel juttatja a vászonra. Már nem mimetikusan alkot képeket, hanem egyedi felületeket nyer: véletlenszerű helyzeteket rögzít, melyeket a valóságból vagy valóságokból nyer. Az új részlet így a realitás egyik vizuális kimetszésévé válik. Ez a festészet alkotója egyéniségének ujjlenyomata. Makrohatásával fogad minket, nézőit. A részlet Zoltán Béla festészetében mikrokozmosszá válik – égi térré magasztosul. Adrian Buga fordította Váli Éva
Gate, acrylic on paper, 253 × 350 cm, 2017
Gate (details), acrylic on paper, 253 × 350 cm, 2017
ZOOM IN So as to watch and understand better Béla Zoltán’s new series, I propose to look upon it not with the contemplative eye, the distant one that handles remoteness magically. But with the loupe-eye that gives us access in a world of details ruled by the artist, a minute and unidirectional world – that of the particulars. Béla Zoltán’s look is endowed with the automatic power of zoom in, and the visual experiences multiply. The suggested experiment, that is to understand the matters through the intimate contact with the detail, should be enriched with the cut-out image, determined by the author’s choices and his personal accents. It is hard to recompose the whole assemblage from which the author crops the detail. This way, if one cannot reconstruct the artist’s track, the new image may seem a nonimage. The discovery of the sought fragment is the natural consequence of an inner experiment, state, feeling. His eye frames, chooses the detail, and his mind assimilates, crops and arranges the cutouts from urban zones, metro stations or rusty metal fences. All these are gathered alchemically and in a complex way in the artist’s visual atlas. Inspiration determines everything: the sorting, composition and elaboration of the image. The painting becomes intuitive, franchised and liberating. Béla Zoltán disposes of the cut-out image instinctively, either eliminating the figurative, or bringing it – reinterpreted – in the foreground. He confesses to me that he is interested in seeking urban details in which recognizable (figurative) outlines and pure pictorial (abstract) zones coexist. In the process of visual familiarization and creation the author frames the image, rebuilds it and tries to recompose a new one. Three years ago, the first artworks from the series started with these pieces of reality, as he names the extracted images. That is how the creator becomes the arranger of intersections. His hands guide the brush on the canvas instinctively; the hand is painting while the mind is being suspended. The closeness to the painted zone is no far to seek. Béla Zoltán’s details are strongly related to his visual apparatus, to the ardor of his eye as well as to his inner look. After a successful experiment with transparencies obtained with acrylic on paper he gained the freedom he needed. The absence of the brush is easily observable; in the color layers fixed with paint roller, pulverizer and palette knife or in the splatter techniques. He does not compose the image mimetically anymore, but attains unique surfaces; My starting points are now accidental situations, found in the reality or realities. The new particular is a detail from the setting of the visual, cut directly from reality. His painting meets us with a macro-effect, together with its author’s individuality and fingerprint. The particular has in Béla Zoltán’s painting the status of “microcosmos”, the detail becomes a celestial space.
Adrian Buga translated by Zsófia Domokos
Face, oil on canvas, wood, 22 × 14 cm, 2017
ZOOM IN Pentru a privi și a înțelege mai bine seria nouă a lui Zoltán Bela, propun ca investigarea vizuală a imaginilor sale să nu impună ca instrument ochiul contemplativ, distant, care operează magic cu depărtările, ci ochiul lupă și, odată cu el, să intrăm într-un lume a detaliilor stăpânită doar de artist, o lume minuțioasă și unidirecțională − cea a detaliului. Privirea lui Zoltán Bela este înzestrată cu puterea automată de a da zoom in și de a înmulți experiențele vizuale. Experimentul propus, cel de a înțelege lucrurile prin contactul intim cu detaliul, ar trebui îmbogățit și susținut de imaginea decupată, plină de alegerile autorului, plină de accentele sale personale. Este greu să identifici contextul din care autorul extrage detaliul. În felul acesta, dacă nu reușești să refeci traseul artistului, imaginea nouă poate părea o non-imagine. Descoperirea fragmentului căutat este urmarea firească a unei experiențe lăuntrice, a unei stări, a unei trăiri. Ochiul său încadrează, alege detaliul, iar mintea lui asimilează, taie și pune ordine în rămășițele decupate din porți industriale, din zone urbane, din stații de metrou sau din gardurile ruginit-metalice. Toate acestea sunt adunate alchimic și complex în atlasul vizual al artistului. Inspirația este peste tot: în triere, în compunere și în execuția imaginii. Pictura devine intuitivă, eliberată și eliberatoare. Zoltán Bela ordonează instinctiv imaginea decupată, din care, fie elimină figurativul, fie îl aduce, reinterpretat, în prim-plan. Îmi mărturisește că este interesat să caute: detalii urbane în care coexistă siluete recognoscibile (figurative) și zone pur picturale (abstracte). Primele lucrări din această serie au pornit, acum 3 ani, de la aceste bucăți de realitate, cum numește imaginile extrase. În felul acesta creatorul devine un ordonator al întretăierilor, mâinile sale ghidează instinctiv pensula pe pânză: mâna pictează când mintea este suspendată. Apropierea de zona pictată ne stă la îndemână. Detaliile lui Zoltán Bela se află într-o strânsă legătură cu aparatul său vizual, atât cu râvna ochiului său, cât și cu privirea sa interioară. După un experiment reușit al transparențelor obținute cu acrilic pe hârtie, a primit libertatea de care avea nevoie.Vedem ușor lipsa pensulei: în straturile de culoare așezate cu ajutorul trafaletului și pulverizatorului, al cuțitului de paletă, în stropiri. Nu mai compune mimetic imaginea, obține suprafețe unice: acum pornesc de la situații accidentale, găsite în realitate sau în realități. Noul amănunt este un detaliu al așternerii vizualului tăiat direct din realitate. Pictura sa vine să ne întâmpine într-un efect macro cu individualitatea și amprenta autorului ei. Amănuntul are în pictura lui Zoltán Bela statutul de «micro cosmos», detaliul devine un spațiu celest! Adrian Buga
Creed, acrylic, board, vintage cabinet door, 64 × 47 cm, 2017
Sadness, acrylic on paper, 87 × 168 cm, 2017
Secret corner, acrylic on paper, 91 × 86 cm, 2018
Secret corner (detail), acrylic on paper, 91 × 86 cm, 2018
Mihaela, oil, canvas, 70 × 50 cm, 2017
Illuminati acrylic, board, vintage cabinet door 47 Ă— 27 cm, 2017
Laocoon acrylic on paper, 262 × 152 cm, 2017
Laocoon (details) acrylic on paper, 262 × 152 cm, 2017
Urbano, oil on canvas, 100 × 100 cm, 2017
After the Rain, oil on canvas, 100 × 100 cm, 2016
Wound, oil on canvas, wood, 50 × 25 cm, 2017
Fence, oil on canvas, 120 × 100 cm, 2015
It, acrylic on board, burned wood, 30 × 20 cm, 2017
Finger traces, oil on canvas on, wood, 20 × 15cm, 2017
ZOLTAN BÉLA (B. 1977) graduated from the University of Arts and Design in Cluj becoming best known for his hyper-realistic paintings with influences from the Cluj School of painting. Several years ago, he took the decision to shift his artistic practice towards experimentation, scrutinizing the limits between figurative and abstract painting, object making and installation. The artist now lives and works in Bucharest, where he explores the urban landscape of rust, patterns and textures – mapping out a fragmented history of human habitation in Eastern Europe. His latest series layers heavy textures inspired by remnants of old gates, walls and doors unto fragile surfaces of acrylic on paper. Their essential ambiguity encourages allusions, which range from the metaphysics of the fragment to questions of evanescence and memory. Béla’s paintings bear the mark of antithesis, sometimes as a therapy to purge inner fears, sometimes as a mirror of reality. Their essential ambiguity encourages allusions, which range from the metaphysics of the fragment to questions of evanescence and memory. The artist often brings into play disturbing mise en scènes that question the fragile boundary between reality and fiction, materiality and incorporeality, immobility and motion, invisibility and absence. The representation of time is the very essence of his work – the air seems to contain it, recording the memory of its ephemeral traces and inducing a state of both contemplation and alertness. His purified and mysterious visual universe pays particular attention to composition, light and contrasts and explores the depth of the details, rather than the effect of the whole and the solitude of the human being, while facing the after-effects of a historical turn.
Solo exhibitions 2016 Art at the window (guest-artist), Simeza Gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2016 L’espace ventriloque, Anca Poterașu Gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2014 Installation, curator Adriana Oprea, The National Museum of Contemporary Art Anexa, Bucharest, Romania 2012 Traces, Anca Poteraşu Gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2011 In meditation: Feeling the Silence, Anca Poteraşu Gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2010 A certain time, a certain place, a certain state, Little Yellow Studio, Bucharest, Romania 2009 Self Reflecting 30, Point Contemporary Gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2009 Transition Icons, Carini & Donatini Gallery, Italy 2007 Car Wreck, Sadaba, Estonia
Partly cloudy, oil on canvas 25 × 20 cm, 2017