Eszter Radák: Four seasons

In her independent exhibition titled Four seasons – if they still exist at all, Eszter Radák displays her work of the past three years. Radák’s work is inherently related to American and British pop art, her work is an excellent example of coolly ironic urban painting, rich in art history references and themes. David Hockney’s world continues to inspire her, but in addition to the pure formalities of pop artists, Radák opens a much more complex world to the observers. The structure of her panel pictures using traditional oil painting techniques are often reminiscent of the three-layered, perspective-editing principle of the old masters; however, sometimes she only paints in plane. Her starting point and focus is always on reality, in this case at home or somewhere in Europe. Her most recent works using colour theory aim to show how characteristic the colours of the different seasons in Europe’s landscapes are.

The compositions of urban scenes, gardens and landscapes, and her works reminiscent of inner spaces are characterized by strange viewpoints and cut-outs, surprising detail enhancements, strange changes in horizons and perspectives using the schemes of photographic imagery. The decorative surface of the images of personal, yet, seemingly timeless memories that could also easily be the scenes of collective memory, is elaborated with a brilliant, almost fabric-like meticulousness. Radák’s works are both emotional and sensual at the same time, they speak to the observer, and are sometimes childishly romantic. Radák is a natural born colourist; throughout her career, she has consistently used life-affirming vibrant colours that are in perfect harmony with her ironic and very fitting titles that have now become her trademark.