‘On the Island’ by Ilona Szalay

LaPortaBlu Art Gallery presenta:

“On the Island” di Ilona Szalay

inaugurazione: Sabato 10 Ottobre 2015

ore 19

 

‘On the Island’ is an exhibition of new work by contemporary painter Ilona Szalay. The paintings are oil on glass and are framed in front of LED lights creating illuminated images or ‘lightbox’ paintings.

‘The Island’ is an imaginative space where tragedy, comedy and eroticism are all played out. The works suggest a narrative of sorts – a shipwreck or accident has occurred and the survivors remain isolated on the island, unable to leave. A rescue is imminent but in no way certain. Those stranded on the island yearn for departure whilst simultaneously being held captive. There are inhabitants on the island. These beings exhibit alien habits, rituals and desires and we are witness to an undercurrent of menace and brooding sexuality between the interlopers and the indigenous beings.

The works are cinematic in that their illumination provides an effect which is both dramatic and magical. The paint rolls across the glass, flooding it, burning bright and only just remaining in the control of the artist.

‘The dark, roiling liquidities of Szalay’s lightbox paintings are simultaneously menacing and compelling, powerfully primeval.’
Gabriel Coxhead, Time Out magazine, London