MADE OF DUST

In Nikolett Balázs’ latest solo exhibition, the themes of her artistic practice unfold in large-scale installations. The material of the show consists of works created during her three-month residency program in Krems. The rich cultural heritage of the city and its continued preservation and representation significantly impacted the artist. In her work, earth colours, tough and primary materials meet different shades of symbolic gold and silver. Attitudes towards the region’s natural resources and heritage of the past are contrasted with social differences, deep-rooted religiosity, and the position of women. The nature of rural identity and the principles of womanhood have already been introduced as questions that the artist deals with in her practice. A recurring element in Balázs’ works is the examination of the notion of value.
The artist seeks a material-centric approach in her artistic practice. The dynamics of her work and the installation strategies she relies upon create a sense of growth, expansion and proliferation. In addition to organic canvases and other more malleable materials, metals and industrial raw materials also appear in her pieces. Her artworks go all the way down to the roots, into the deep, building upon reviving the ancient origins of humans, as well as the traditions of land art and process art. The formulation of a grandiose installation constructed in the exhibition venue elicits an almost sacred, contemplative space. The artist stiffens and transforms the possible elements of the phases of self-examination into sculptural installations that evoke, among others, artefacts found during excavations, stratigraphic layers of mountain ranges, and feminine forms. The wide variety of natural formations, biomorphic forms and motifs evoking human genetics are woven into a complex system.
The socio-cultural environment experienced in the new location resulted in the artist reassessing her personal interpretation of reality. What can we learn about our roots, history, integrity in a foreign but not that far away country? Nikolett Balázs dives into a unique search for identity, which focuses on the issues of the path of the individual and the community, the possible attitudes towards our environment and the past. Her research leads us through genesis stories and sacred myths to a clear, visual formation of a close-to-nature perspective.

17th of May 2021 – 11th of June 2021
Nagyházi Contemporary, 1055 Budapest, Falk Miksa street 13.