Indulging in an aesthetic that falls somewhere between that of statues of Buddhist temple guardians and that of Chupa Chups lollipop wrappers, Zsófia Keresztes has developed a unique sculpting style. Reminiscent of Catalan Art Nouveau, the artist’s large organic forms are made of polystyrene covered with small mosaic tiles. These shapes often perch on top of each other like cairns, their outlines dripping like cake icing, or they may rest on the ground in long, curvy worm-like shapes. The palette of tesserae, with tones ranging from pale orange to fleshy pink and baby blue, would make a confectionery jealous. In “After Dreams: I Dare to Defy the Damage,” the Hungarian pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale, Keresztes embraced anthropomorphism. Two large eyes hung on either side of the entrance, with a giant teardrop above, creating a sort of portal that made the pavilion look like a temple. In Venice, the artist interrupted the surfaces of his works with elements foreign to their aesthetic: chains attached certain objects to the walls, and metal shelves created a contrast with the otherwise immaculately tiled sculptures.
For his solo exhibition “Fruits of Persistence”, Keresztes again stacked biomorphic shapes covered in pastel-hued mosaics. The sculptures looked like ancient deities who had traveled back in time to a New Age cult of trippy colors and indiscriminately fused species. Most prominent, Untitled, 2023, features a humanoid figure standing on four legs that end in elongated bubbles of light blue color, suggesting feet. Each of the four limbs joins the bulges that overhang it, forming four columns surmounted by two pairs of emerald needles. Three face apples are pressed into the center of these four bulbous pillars. Fence, 2022, could either be separate figures in silhouette or a two-headed dancer doing the splits on the floor. Spirit levels connect the flared ends of the form, transforming the sculpture into a partition that bounded from the front of the exhibition space several smaller sets of worm-like sculptures –Sweet alliance I.–VI.all 2022.
While the figure in Untitled echoes depictions of the Hindu deity Lakshmi, a goddess of wealth and good fortune, the posture and arrangement of Fence recalls depictions of Durga, a multi-armed war goddess who is sometimes said to fight for the oppressed; she is usually depicted carrying weapons in her many hands. Here, the mason’s levels that connect the arms and legs apart from Fence carry the potential to become the attributes of this goddess figure: emblematic not of war but of balance.
Keresztes blends all of these different visual clues into his own quirky, yet to be fully deciphered, esoteric iconography. “Fruits of Perseverance,” a title reminiscent of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, could be read as a biblical reference, especially since the only “fruits” on display were apples, an image of temptation and a favorite food. of verse. With this symbolism, Keresztes explores the close links between the political and religious concepts, despite their often contradictory meanings and functions. His sculptures ask what it takes to establish balance.
