Árpád Forgó (HU) – Mihkel Ilus (EST) Up to a Point

On May 10, 2024, Friday, at 17:30, the exhibition “Viewpoint / Up to a Point” by foreign artists Árpád Forgó (Hungary) and Mihkel Ilus (Estonia) will open at the Klaipėda Culture Communication Center (KKKC) Exhibition Halls (Didžioji Vandens str. 2, Klaipėda). Artists constantly seek the “limits of materials” and new interpretations: this idea permeates the entire exhibition. Both creators enjoy working with repetitive rhythmic patterns, experimenting with various variations of the same idea, or creating compositions from objects and defined modules. Some of the exhibited works can be considered open or infinite creations, which the viewer can contemplate or “construct” further. The curator of the exhibition is Gábor Pintér. The exhibition will be open for viewing until July 7th.

 

Looking at an artwork, we are looking at materials. For centuries, canvas, stretchers and paint have been the basic raw materials in painting, just like today. The importance of these classical painting materials are common ground for Hungarian artist, Árpád Forgó and Estonian artist, Mihkel Ilus. They do not follow traditional processes; rather – through deconstruction and construction – they reinterpret; and this is the bottom line of the exhibition. 

 

Both artists are working in the field of geometry and minimalism, creating compositions, structures and sculptural pieces. The presented artworks are consistent results of the experiments the artists have been going through in the past few years. They keep searching the limits and possible interpretations of the materials, that is manifested through very different visual outcomes. 

 

Ilus brings the stretcher bar, which we usually can never see, into the foreground, or even going further, he is creating a monument out of this humble piece of wood.  

The cut canvas stripes become a snake twining on the wall. Forgó creates shaped canvases and wall objects, leaving the flat planes behind. His compositions, often built from modules, are balancing on the border of painting, relief and sculpture.  

The unusual architectural solution of KCCC Exhibition Hall resonates with the repetitive and rhythmical patterns appearing in the exhibition it is hosting. 

 

Up to a Point is the first joint exhibition of the artists.  

 

Curator: Gábor Pintér 

 

Supported by National Cultural Fund of Hungary, Embassy of Hungary in Vilnius, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Western Shipyard.