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ÚJGEOMETRIA
NEWGEOMETRY
KÖRMENDI
GALÉRIA
Pataki Gábor
Koppány Attila
ÚJGEOMETRIA
Pataki Gábor
Koppány Attila
ÚJGEOMETRIA
Szerző | Author
© Pataki Gábor
Szerkesztő | Editor
Csák Ferenc
Fordítás | Translate
Nagy Zoltán
Címlap | Cover
Station – 2022, vászon, akril, 60x60 cm
Szentivánéji álom – 2010, akril, vászon, 120x100 cm Montezuma – 2010, farost, akril, 60x70 cm
The starting point was the Colourful red line penetrating the black square dom-
City series, where there were more or less inating the picture refers to the tragedy of
recognizable architectural motifs, tower- the lost battlefield.
ing constructions, but at the same time Yet obviously it would be unnecessary
connected with each other by complicated to "translate" every image this way, since
connections, clearly recalling the ancestors Koppány's works basically avoid narration.
(Rodchenko, Sant'Elia or Kassák), all with Most of them can be interpreted according
the recognition of their artistic potential, and to their own laws, the relationship, tensions
with a strange, even worldly, mundane basic and dynamics of the pure, homogeneous
position. colour planes. Balanced situations are cre-
Later the mysterious buildings on the ated in these pictures or we can just witness
shore lost a lot of their concreteness. In- losing of such balances, proportions and di-
stead of places and buildings, they became rections play a major role.
stripes of colour and shapes that clashed We can also notice, however, that the rest-
with each other. His new individual, personal less, norm-breaking sprite living inside the
geometry did not mean the subjective char- artist sometimes starts to work and "inter-
acter that can be found in the works, rather feres" into the pictures. Sometimes the sur-
the free choice between the possibilities of- face covered with a uniformly clear, homo-
fered by the given tone and mode, the testing geneous colour becomes suddenly glazed,
of the positions that can be created in this while some other times, theoretically mis-
way, and the adjustment to his own charac- matched colour sequins begin to float on
ter. However, he does not deny himself here, the surface, in some other places an unex-
scaling through the options within the given pected lobed shape overturns the tranquilli-
parameters: compositions that can be clas- ty of the work. However, the discipline, calm-
sified as conscious or involuntary homage ness, and precision of a geometric designer
are born, which pay tribute to the heroic in- and the never-ending desire for adventure
tentions of Kassák and Moholy-Nagy. There of an artist with wild imagination can be felt
are also works, which hint at broader asso- at the same time. This is the dichotomy that
Belváros I. – 2022, vászon, akril, 100x70 cm ciations, such as Segesvár, where the blood- makes his works alive and vibrant.
14 – Koppány Attila Koppány Attila – 15
Városrészlet – 2022, vászon, akrill, 40x30 cm Belváros – 2020, vászon, akril, 70x50 cm
Ez a fajta könnyedség erősödik fel a cik- sét. Koppány Attila tehát most sem tagad-
lus utolsó darabjain, mintha a művész ta meg önmagát.
megsokallta volna az általa előzetesen Ha végignézzük az utolsó 3–4 évben ké-
felállított kritériumok diktatúráját. A kötel- szült képeket, egyrészt az alkotókedv jól
meket lerázva lázadni kezd, s elkezdi de- érzékelhető felerősödése mellett (jóval
konstruálni, visszabontani témáját. Erő- több mint száz műről beszélhetünk!) azt is
teljes mozdulatokkal megfestett lazább megfigyelhetjük, hogy a piramis-tematika
gesztusok, visszakaparások vagy kön�- főszereplőből epizodistává válik: fel-fel-
nyed színfuvallatok kezdik megkérdőjelez bukkan olykor (Töréspont, Színes piramis,
ni az addigi fegyelmet. A változatos festői Sugárzó piramisok, valamennyi 2021), de
alapállással, az örökös kíváncsisággal és inkább kiegészítő, a motívumkínálatot szí-
nyughatatlansággal jellemezhető művé- nesítő elemként, már messze nem ren-
szi magatartás a rutinnál többre értékeli delkezve azzal a referencialitással, szim-
az egymást elvileg opponálni képes hatá- bolikus-történeti háttérrel, mely a korábbi
sok együttes szerepeltetését, ütközteté- sorozatot jellemezte. Piramiscsalád – 2019, vászon, akril, 100x70 cm
In the neo-geometric image world, stripes and grids, the arrangement of the
which is otherwise branching out in sever- pyramid shape in rows, the alternation of
al directions, a kind of "internal" series that top and side views, and the interconnectiv-
can be considered independent was born ity of larger and smaller shapes. It is also
around 2020-21. The pyramid, as a shape part of Koppány's working method and his
that is easily identifiable and also has rich frequently used artistic gestures that he
historical and cultural connotations, of- occasionally "pokes" into the clean, uni-
fered the artist great opportunities to play form surface, smuggles "inappropriate"
and make experiments in a narrower area. spots, blobs of colour, and hesitant, stray
The central motif, evoked sometimes on a lines into the disciplined forms, testifying
plane, sometimes with a sense of spatiality, to the apparent laxity. This procedure not
is placed in a wide variety of situations in only testifies to the hidden continuation of
the pictures with a slight paradox we could the expressive-organic roots of his art, but
even say that the change will be constant. also indicates the state of non-chalance,
The spheres and triangles are reflected, which, based on the experience of a ca-
multiplied, rotated around their axis or reer spanning several decades, can truly
just fall apart into smaller pyramid shard. provide an exemption from the convulsive
Their proportions and angles change, they and strict discipline of trends and current
become slimmer or wider. Using the mo- events, as well as the rules of consensus.
tifs, the creator was concerned with the The series is essentially based on analy
arising spiritual and technical challenges, ses of artistic and professional problems,
the questions of proportions, composition- yet we cannot completely ignore the sym-
al balance, or the relationship, collision, bolic burden of the pyramid either. It is a
and dynamics of colours. He plays and spiritual symbol of the relationship and in-
considers at the same time, and if he finds terdependence of Earth and Sky, matter and
the possibilities emerging in this way excit- spirit, with its upward, resolutely pointed
ing enough, he weaves them into the con- form, and it is not simply some coincidence
struction of his pictures. He is often busy that it can be found in most of the high cul-
Sugárzó piramisok – 2021, vászon, akril, 100x70 cm with the compositional variability of colour tures of the world. It is also a harsh and de-
34 – Koppány Attila Koppány Attila – 35
Esemény – 2020, vászon, akril, 70x70 cm
cisive symbol of power, the trademark of a haviour values the combination and clash
sole ruler. Let's not forget that social sci- of influences that can in principle oppose
ence still models the material/power strat- each other more than the routine. So, Attila
ification and hierarchical relationships of Koppány did not deny himself.
societies in a pyramidal form. Thus, these If we look at the pictures made during
aspects inevitably sneak into the images of the last 3-4 years, in addition to the clear-
the series – even if in a more playful, easier ly perceptible strengthening of the crea-
way. This kind of lightness is strengthened tive spirit (there are more than 100 works!)
in the last pieces of the cycle, as if the artist we can also observe that the pyramid
had fed up with the dictatorship of the cri- theme has turned from a protagonist role
teria he had set in advance. Shaking off the to an episodic one: it pops up occasionally
requirements, he begins to rebel and begins (Breakpoint, Coloured Pyramid, Radiant Pyra-
to deconstruct his subject. Looser gestures mids, all of them from 2021), but rather as
painted with powerful movements, back- a supplementary element that adds col-
scratches or light blows of colour begin to our to the range of motifs, far from having
question the previous discipline. Charac- the referentiality and symbolic-historical
terized by a varied painter’s approach, eter- background that characterized the previ-
nal curiosity and restlessness, artistic be- ous series. Piramisok – 2021, vászon, akril, 120x100 cm
Recently, Koppány has seemed return- fraught with crises, epidemics and wars,
ing to the diversity of his first geometric may also contribute to it. Besides, obvi-
era, to his paths running side by side, but ously they also contain the possibility of
in addition to that with new emphases more painterly and compositional excite-
appear in his paintings. For example, in ment. They allow more space for more
many of his pictures, the diagonal dyna unexpected, unpredictable painterly in-
mic, which he seldom used in the past, vention: for example, Interactions (2021),
will be the main character (just a few ex- the zigzag movement dictated by the two
amples: Diagonals, 2020, 2216, G2, Clean red cross shapes finally calms down in a
Page, all from 2021). Besides, he is in- blue triangle, or as the tense, hyperactive
creasingly involved in the collision and vibration of the Quarantine picture (2020)
clash of different image elements. The is opposed by the floating semicircle of
direction of movement runs mostly di- the lower third of the picture. So Koppány
agonally from the edge of the image or plays a game that creates tension, with
towards the centre (e.g. White Crosses, vigour and curiosity that does not fit his
2020, East and West, G4, and There Are No age. In any case, some kind of latent nar-
UFOs, all 2021). Although he has some rative character can be observed in his
more static pictures based on balanced non-figurative works, in most of them
situations (we shall come back to these "something is happening": in the image
ones later), but in most of the works Trap (2019), the form unfolding into pred-
the individual elements and motifs col- atory triangles can't wait for the narrow
lide, move, deviate, this locate, penetrate arc to swim between its "teeth", in the
each other, the state of rest is unknown in White Rock (2020) a red circle begins to
them (e.g. Event, MADI, Change, all from roll into the unknown. His works of this
2020, Station, 2020). This partly resonates type are unintentionally related to the
with the emergence of the restless- "narrative non-figurativeness" of Tamás
ness and expressive tendency of the art- Lossonczy.
ist, and partly the uncertain, hardly pre- In addition to this kind of involuntary
Belváros – 2020, vászon, akril, 70x50 cm dictable world situation of recent years, homage, which can perhaps be explained
56 – Koppány Attila Koppány Attila – 57
Négyzeteim – 2019, farost, akril, 50x50 cm
by the similar habitus of the two artists, ange (2021) Hans Albers, Blue line (2020)
he also consciously recalls his artistic recalls the art of Imre Bak. These and the
models several times. In addition to the reminiscences and resonances not men-
tributes undertaken with the titles (MA- tioned here also indicate that Koppány's
DI, 2020, Calvary of the Black Square, Re- playfulness and diversity lie behind the
membering Malevich, In Memoriam Tamás conscious and innovative mapping of his
Konok, all from 2021), also more hidden chosen mode.
quotes appear in the works, such as Or- Gábor Pataki art historian Meditáció homokórával – 2022, vászon, akril, 70x50 cm
Napcsapda – 2021, vászon, akril, 90x120 cm Kultúrtáj – 2020, vászon, akril, 58x58 cm
Vészhelyzet – 2021, vászon, akril, 70x70 cm Karantén-kép – 2020, vászon, akril, 70x50 cm
Madi – 2020, vászon, akril, 50x50 cm Madi – 2020, vászon, akril, 70x70 cm
Wehner Tibor
művészettörténész
2019.