Exhibitions

Péter Nyári Sárkány: Intersecting Identities

Opening: February 26, 2016, 17:30

"When analysing my personal development, I find not only two, but three intersecting identities – Hungarian Jewish, Hungarian Roma and Hungarian Christian... I consciously chose each of these identities in certain life stages (although I inherited and grew up with them).  First, the Hungarian Jewish identity dominated, then the Hungarian Roma identity, until finally the three united and merged in Christianity. My triple identity is reflected in both the themes and the shape of my artworks. " (Péter Nyári Sárkány, Budapest, 2016)

 Péter Nyári Sárkány is a contemporary artist. His early career was influenced by the Hungarian Neo-avantgard, namely by Miklós Erdély and Január Baksa, by the former Young Artists Club, and by the Vajda Lajos Studio in Szentendre. In the beginning he used several objet trouvé in his artworks, and then he slowly developed his unique use of materials: On his wood boards gravel, sand, gypsum and glass fragments appear in the relief-like factures shaped by pastose painting layers. His works are thus on the frontiers of painting and sculpture. He embraced the remembrance of the Roma Holocaust in his art already in the early seventies.The “Night Death March”, the “Flaming People” and the Wallenberg portrait series, which he exhibited in installations, can be seen as experimental paintings of performative genres. His land art works composed together with István Lugossy and Endre Darázs are also well-documented in photos and videos.

His exhibition at Gallery8 - the Roma Contemporary Art Space is based on artworks displaying angels, Romany traditions and commemoration to the great Hungarian and Romani artists, as well as a site specific performance.