László Kerekes was an international artist in Berlin, and formerly a member of the Bosch+Bosch avantgarde art group in Subotica. His life in key dates and his understanding of his art are detailed below.
László’s life in dates
- Born 1954 in Stara Moravica, belonging to the ethnic Hungarian minority in Vojvodina, Ex-Yugoslavia (recently Serbia)
- From 1971 to 1974 “New art practice”, member of the Bosch+Bosch avantgarde art group in Subotica, the first 8-mm experimental films / body-art actions / Mail Art
- Graduated in art-restauration at the College of Fine Arts / University of Belgrad, 1980, and also studied at the University of Novi Sad (1972-76)
- 1976 painting / installation / experimental photography / photocopy-art
- In 1984/85 art director of Új Symposion, a magazine for art and culture in Novi Sad
- After strengthening of nationalism in his home country, in 1988 relocation to West Berlin, Germany
- Residence in Berlin as an international artist, since 1994 also performances / video-art
- 1997, invited artist in ART/OMI, International Artists’ Residency, Omi/New York
- 1998, conception and coorganization of the “Aggregatzustand – simple constructions” in Berlin and the project “Orient/e” in the Jewish Museum in Budapest
- 1999 Lichtgestalten-project / “false landscapes” / Goethe-Institute Budapest
- 2000 Digitale Fotografie: Elektronische Bildbearbeitung, IG Medien Stuttgart
- 2001 Grant of Kunstfonds / Bonn, Germany (Arbeitsstipendium)
- “Markers” / International artists’ project / 49. Bienniale di Venezia
- 2002 Electric Pole as Outdoor Sculpture@Kassel City of Documenta
- Series of artworks published in the autumn 2002 issue of the “Lettre International” / Berlin
- 2003, “Wandering Library” / Museo Ebraico di Venezia
- 2005 development of a self designed digital pinhole camera without a lens / The first series of art photographs made with a digital pinhole camera
- Died on 4.7.2011
László’s art in his words
My works are permanently manifested at different, temporally parallel, functional levels of the mind, in the time signified by the transitory. In order to take on some meanings and roles, I am using greatly varied media and materials. Instead of concentrating only on the language of Art, my experiments are concerned with reaching an understanding and reflection of complexity. Installations composed through the use of simple objects concentrate in meanings of the interactions, which are produced by the recycling of memory.
In my works I am interested in meanings which lie just above the presentable narrative truth of reality. Exactly there metaphors function no longer as metaphors as we perceive them / they simply cease to exist.
The ultimately created order of objects and signs does not even have anything to do with the past, although perhaps with the present, and certainly with the experience of the future.
László Kerekes, About a few aspects of my work (full text here)
More about László, in his own words, and by others (each button links to the original website of László Kerekes):