Sifang Art Museum is honoured to present London-based Hungarian artist Szabolcs Bozó’s solo exhibition Balaton in the museum’s satellite space on Tongren Road, Shanghai. The exhibition will open on February 26th, 2022, and will be on view until April 10th, 2022.
Balaton is the inaugural project of the collaboration between Sifang Art Museum and M WOODS. Both institutions are dedicated to bringing ground-breaking and era-defining contemporary artists into the public eyes. Bozó, an iconic central European artist of his generation, will present his major institutional solo in M WOODS later this year.
Szabolcs Bozó (b. 1992 in Pécs, Hungary) depicts a fantastical world of innocence and spontaneity. He paints the dwellers of such a world, clear-eyed yet sharp-fanged cartoon animals, with bright colors and rhythmic strokes of Gesturalism.
Lake Balaton, known as the “Hungarian Sea”, is the biggest freshwater lake in central Europe. The lake’s famous mineral springs, forests, and birds make it the region’s foremost tourist attraction. To Bozó, the name “Shanghai” (above the sea) recalls childhood summer swimming on Lake Balaton with his family. Amid a global pandemic when travelling has become increasingly restricted, Bozó’s eight latest paintings will arrive in Shanghai in lieu of himself. The nine-tailed foxes, chick, and blackbird will bring a sliver of Lake Balaton into the Lianhua Apartment on Tongren Road.
Just as Shanghai Animation Film Studio has shaped generations of Chinese people’s childhood memories, traditional Hungarian animation has influenced Bozó and his paintings. He combines cartoonist impression and realistic sensibility to create his nostalgic, humorous, and endearing fantasy creatures. In his dreamlike urban wetland, Bozó hopes to share the laughter and comfort of his childhood nostalgia with people in Shanghai.
Balaton is produced by Sifang Art Museum. Special thanks to the artist and Carl Kostyál (London, Stockholm).
四方当代美术馆很荣幸宣布将在其位于上海铜仁路的卫星空间呈现匈牙利艺术家萨波尔齐斯·博佐的展览项目“巴拉顿湖”。展期为2022年2月26日至2022年4月10日。
本次展览为四方当代美术馆与木木美术馆联合发起的系列项目的首次亮相。两馆致力于发掘新兴艺术实践、将具有先锋性和时代性的创作带入公众视野，而博佐正是新一代中欧艺术家中代表性的一员。继此次展览后，木木美术馆也将于今年下半年推出博佐的大型机构个展。
萨波尔齐斯·博佐1992年出生于匈牙利佩奇，常常以手势主义（Gesturalism）般活泼的笔触、绚丽的色彩去描绘出目光清澈、笑容顽皮却牙尖爪利的野生卡通动物形象们，组成一个纯真无邪又放肆欢脱的奇幻世界。
被称为“匈牙利海”的巴拉顿湖是中欧地区最大的湖泊，也是以湖面、森林、飞鸟、矿泉著称的度假胜地。“上海”（海洋以上）之名令常驻伦敦的博佐回想起与家人在巴拉顿湖游泳的童年夏日。面对这个危机萦绕的“后疫情时代”，远行度假近乎奢望，博佐本人也难以亲临上海。本次展览中，他将以八幅新作在联华公寓的灰色房间内捎来一片湖光，一次与九尾狐、鸡仔、黑鸟和微笑浪花相伴的临时远行。
如同上海美术电影制片厂曾塑造了几代中国人的童年记忆，或许也是在匈牙利动画传统的潜在影响下，博佐混合了动漫记忆与现实感受的幻想生物们才弥漫出可爱之余朴拙、幽默的怀旧特质。希望透过这片都市中浮现的旧梦之水，可以令上海的居民们获得欢笑与慰藉，重拾起一些童真的力量。
本次展览由四方当代美术馆策划。感谢艺术家及Carl Kostyál画廊（伦敦、斯德哥尔摩）的支持。
Installation images: Photo by Xu Xin. Courtesy of Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing | Shanghai
Work images: Photo by Yuki Shima. Courtesy of Carl Kostyál, London | Stockholm