Last week I went to one of my favorite art galleries, to see what they have exhibited. I knew the artist's name and knew I've met her before, I mean her artwork, but could not remember where or what it was.
When I stepped in the gallery and saw the artwork, my smile went from ear to ear as I knew right away who the artist was and what I am going to see. Looking at each artwork, I recognized the one I saw before and knew exactly the place it was exhibited.
The first thing I noticed was the harmony of colors on each painting. That does not happen very often as the more paintings there are, the higher the chance to see a variety of styles and colors. Not here though.
The artist is Éva Barabás, born in Marosvásárhely, in 1941. There was a brochure about the exhibition, which said Where The Realm Of Words Ends and I think this is what this exhibition was about.
Joseph
A Biblical scene, but I'm not very religious, so I can't tell you which one it is. However, look at the colors and the faces. To me, it looks like the scene is in the desert, as the golden background reminds me of sand, that turns gold when the sun is shining, but who knows.
Daphnis and Chloe
Daphnis and Chloe (Greek: Δάφνις καὶ Χλόη, Daphnis kai Chloē) is an ancient Greek novel written in the Roman Empire, the only known work of the second-century AD Greek novelist and romance writer Longus.
Daphnis and Chloe is the story of a boy (Daphnis) and a girl (Chloe), each of whom is abandoned at birth along with some identifying tokens. A goatherd named Lamon discovers Daphnis, and a shepherd called Dryas finds Chloe. Each decides to raise the child he finds as his own. Daphnis and Chloe grow up together, herding the flocks for their foster parents. They fall in love but, being naive, do not understand what is happening to them. Philetas, a wise old cowherd, explains to them what love is and tells them that the only cure is kissing. They do this. Eventually, Lycaenion, a woman from the city, educates Daphnis in love-making. Daphnis, however, decides not to test his newly acquired skill on Chloe, because Lycaenion tells Daphnis that Chloe "will scream and cry and lie bleeding heavily [as if murdered]." Throughout the book, Chloe is courted by suitors, two of whom (Dorcon and Lampis) attempt with varying degrees of success to abduct her. She is also carried off by raiders from a nearby city and saved by the intervention of the god Pan. Meanwhile, Daphnis falls into a pit, gets beaten up, is abducted by pirates, and is very nearly raped by a drunkard. In the end, after being recognised by their birth parents, Daphnis and Chloe get married and live out their bucolic lives in the country.
source
I didn't know about this novel and only checked now what it it about, but knowing the meaning, I can understand it better.
I'm not sure if it is visible in the previous image, but I cropped it for you to see the woman on the left. I've never seen a painting like that, but love it!
Dual Game
This one made me smile. I remember standing in front of the painting and trying to figure out what the artist meant. This is something I'm doing in front of each painting or artwork, then I either have an answer, or don't. I'm doing this quietly, so the thoughts are all in my head as I'm not going to talk to myself. But this time the experience was different.
I wasn't alone in the gallery. There were two ladies also visiting and talking about each artwork. They stopped in front of this one and one of them said: dual game could be because the kid is playing a game, he's impersonating the scarecrow and the scarecrow is impersonating a person. Honestly, I would have never figured that out, but I'm glad I heard them talking. I'm not sure if the artist meant the same thing, but the lady was totally right. It's nice to discuss what you see with someone, even though sometimes the silence is too strong to break it.
Why?
I think anyone would ask Why what? or at least that would be a normal reaction, although we know we're never going to get an answer in the absence of the artist.
So what do I think? Look at the faces. Look at how sad everyone is. This makes me think it's a funeral and the crowd behind the main characters and flying horse might confirm my theory.
Epiphany
Epiphany, also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana.
In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus Christ's physical manifestation to the Gentiles. It is sometimes called Three Kings' Day, and in some traditions celebrated as Little Christmas. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. source
Carnival of Venice
Look at the faces, the masks and the clothes in general. Absolutely amazing in my opinion. Perfectly matches the background as well, the golden sky.
The Whole World Is A Theater
I loved this one and agree with the title. The whole world is a theater. We're playing a role every single day, depending on the day and on the place, people we're with. One person can have many faces and the painting shows that nicely. The colors are exactly what I prefer.
In The Wake Of Lost Time
Lost time is lost time and it's never going to come back, so we have to live the moment.
In The Wake Of Lost Time
This concept had two versions, the female and the male one. Both interesting in my opinion.
Buried Dreams
I think we all have a few, like it or not as not all our dreams come true and what can you do, other than bury them. It's sad though.
Shooting Star
As I mentioned at the beginning, there was one painting I recognized and I remember asking the art gallery lady if it was for sale. She said the artist is not selling any of the artworks, but even if she would, that piece would be around 3000€. Imagine getting to the age of 82, painting for fun, without being pressured by financial matters. These paintings most likely will be even more valuable in the upcoming future and I don't think the heirs will sell any. I couldn't ans wouldn't. So having the occasion of visiting the exhibition is a privilege in my eyes because this was a special one.
Stay tuned for the next episode as it's going to be interesting.
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