Oliver Szax: Debrecen is a city of eternal surprises for me
His exhibition entitled Olivér Szax Fundamentum, open until June 9, is open at the Bényi Gallery in Debrecen. Although the artist is extremely open and his works are certainly outstanding pieces of contemporary minimalist works, he does not talk much about them. This made an exception and responds to Főnix Rendezvényszervező Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft. some questions.
Most artists are quite eloquent when it comes to instilling the secrets of their creations. Yet you don’t talk much about your works, your arts. What is the reason of this?
True, I rarely talk about these topics in public, but that’s just the surface. We talk to colleagues, artist friends and collectors whenever the opportunity arises, almost constantly talking about art philosophy, work processes and internal motivations, of course saving the world every time – up to seven times…
My completed works are closed gates, which in turn can be easily opened with a sincere question, to which the interested person is usually exhaustive and often present with novel answers.
Thank you for honoring me with the interview. You have given the title Fundamentum to your exhibition in Debrecen, which you can visit now. How are your images arranged around the title?
The word fundamentum is multi-layered here: a number of ideological foundations, starting points and universal questions lie behind the word, as well as research into the basic problems of painting, the technical base and the possibility of innovation using tradition. These vital things ensure constant discovery, research, invention, create the security of an eternal experimental opportunity, as without them I would be just a self-repeating, barren painter, which is unacceptable. Therefore, the selection of these experimental series reflects the word “fundamentum” that gives the title of the exhibition.
Your latest works show signs of a conceptualist conceptual approach, and the use of symbols, the search for new ways of expression, and continuous experimentation characterize the images. What techniques do you use for images as you usually experiment?
I’m looking for the most varied starting points, whether it’s a pasty, gesture-level, fast-paced, or even a measured, repeatedly “assembled”, stenciled, and disciplined precise piece. After each completed image, my technical experience obviously grows, which I then try to ask for something new, current and valid by throwing it in the next job and setting a new direction.
For me, painting is not an illustration, an answer, but a series of questions.
How do you choose the theme, which we then see in your pictures again?
The theme is infinitely free, and at the same time terribly bound: it must be both universal and current, carrying the dimensions of the past and present. constant constant, simple I put on my canvases: what makes us live, feeling people, how we can become aware of the identity of a tiny part of the universe.
As a photographer, your wife captures the special moments of the cities and streets, you can look at her pictures almost as age documents, wonderful prints. Do the two of you get together somewhere, inspire each other, or have you ever used a photo of your work?
Naturally. Lilla captures unrepeatable moments in a picture, from an extreme point of view and with a precise, disciplined attitude: it is inevitable that I will sometimes take over a symbol or character from it into my work.
Your little son, Augustine, was born a year and a half ago. Did your arrival have an impact on creative work or inspiration?
Close to the body, every day, interwoven with emotions and witnessing the formation and development of a new life inevitably affects my work – I experience an incredible influencing, positive force in terms of inspiration, work pace and momentum.
Can you name it in a picture that is currently on display at both your favorite and Fundamentum exhibitions?
I would like to highlight one of my latest images, “The Former High Street,” in a strong conceptualist form — the intellectual imprint of the past, our transient maturity, but also our sense of incredible ability to survive is filtered through the “white noise” that makes up the image.
You live and work in Budapest, but you spent a few days with your family in Debrecen in connection with the exhibition. Most of the time, they are surprised by how busy the pictures of Debrecen Square are, whether they visit the built lines of Kossuth Square and the surrounding streets, or the green belt of the Nagyerdei Park. How did you like the city, what did you experience?
The scene of Debrecen is a city of eternal surprises, both with its system of physical and spatial objects, and with its spirituality and radiance.
Wandering the streets, I make jumps across eras, I feel the imprint of the spirit of the Reformation as well as the positive appearance of the fabrics of the prosperous city and, most importantly, the valid integration of tradition and progression.
What do you think about the Bényi Gallery as a quasi-institution for commercial purposes and as an artist about the exhibition space?
The space is fantastic, almost identical to the street, the paintings can be admired from the outside as well as from the exhibition hall – this is especially important as a lot of people are reluctant to visit the galleries due to their timidity and false sense of externality. The spatial endowments of the gallery give encouragement and bring art to an audience that has not been addressed so far.
When will we meet you next in Debrecen?
At the finish, on the eighth of June at the Bényi Gallery. I hope we have a good conversation about art and open those certain gates together.