This subtle portrayal of the human experience is a major shift for Zsuzsa Moizer – a Budapest native, a graduate of the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, and the 2006 winner of Hungary’s prestigious János Smohay Prize – after putting aside her painting for several years in order to focus on installations. While much of her past work was overtly dark and depressive, including past series centered around expressive figures such as “Injuries” and “Remains From the Tomb of Twins”, her newest exhibit now on display at downtown Pest’s Deák Erika Gallery initially overwhelms viewers with light tones of orange, pink, and blue – yet soon we observe the intricate depictions of soulful sentiment that are a recurring motif in Zsusza’s oeuvre.
In “Sunshine”, the painting is dominated by hazy outlines of lush forest scenery, creating impressionistic depth in a paradisiacal setting rich with shadows of light orange under a mildly cerulean sky… but in the foreground appears a solitary man almost knee-deep in water, his hand held to his forehead in a state of apparent despair, blocking the sun’s bright beams from his face. Similarly, “Memories” presents a cloud-like expanse of fluffy outlines that seems almost heavenly, but an adult and child crouched with arms crossed in the foreground lends a certain sense of idle desperation in contrast with the empyrean atmosphere.
“The Children” presents another delusive disparity between early perception and eventual realization: with a faint city skyline in the background behind a thin row of greenery, a broad meadow of beige hues projects a peaceful tract removed from metropolitan bustle – but a pair of kids apparently fleeing the urban zone, with only each other for company amid a vast emptiness, invites speculation of melancholy in juxtaposition to the soft tints that immediately saturate the eye.
In addition to these brilliantly muted works that conceal personal travails, the exhibit also includes clearer portraits such as “The Sickness”, where a fuzzily rendered head with delicately shaded features is ripped asunder by a giant rift through the middle of the skull. Altogether, the underlying themes of these paintings may project a glum mood, but thanks to Zsuzsa’s fresh use of passionate colors, the exhibit offers a richly complex milieu of the entire spectrum of human emotion, accurately reflecting the variegated spirit of being alive.The Zsuzsa Moizer exhibit is on view through October 11 at the Deák Erika Gallery: Pest VI, Mozsár u. 1. Log onto www.deakgaleria.hu for more information.
