2017 Semi-Precious Click on images to view artwork details, thank you for visiting! View more here - To next page
Semi Precious
It is not difficult to appreciate the technical qualities of the paintings in
this new body of works by Ron Nyisztor. Meticulously rendered, the objects
depicted confront the viewer as though in a mug shot, dead pan and still.
The neutral backgrounds reinforce this effect, suggesting an indefinite
space, neither close nor distant. The play of light is powerful, revealing
the objects and the air that surrounds them. The centred subject of each
painting is familiar; glass timers, a candle, gems, containers and other
found objects.
Delving more deeply into these seemingly innocuous representations
reveals deeper layers.These disparate items have a Morandi like
significance to the artist, having been in his possession over many years,
serving as reminders of people, places and experiences. The objects have
become enmeshed into his daily life and serve as vehicles for metaphysical
explorations. The placement of these items into a painting assists in our
perception of them as things, disassociated from their functional role, and
how we might name and categorise them, as though seeing them for the
first time.
This initial confrontation with a strange object is what Nyisztor is aiming
for, the immediacy of perception, before time dissolves the initial shock of
recognition and the things that surround us disappear into familiarity and
invisibility. It is inevitable that this will occur, as to have this encounter on
a constant basis would make life unbearably intense...yet it is important
to be reminded of the fundamental experience of reality.
It is part of Nyisztor's modus operandi that he devises titles in advance of
the artwork, laying the conceptual groundwork that accompanies each
painting, but less a title more like a script for the artwork to act out.They
could also be minimal two word poems, expanding into other meanings
that exist alongside the mute renderings in oil paint on canvas.
The title Semi Precious raises more questions. What part is precious and
what part is not? By what criteria do we value objects? Is this value
arbitrary or based on some material or monetary worth? It is this idea of
value that is at the core of this exhibition. How do we measure the value
of things and their meanings, and our interaction with the world?
Trevor Richards
It is not difficult to appreciate the technical qualities of the paintings in
this new body of works by Ron Nyisztor. Meticulously rendered, the objects
depicted confront the viewer as though in a mug shot, dead pan and still.
The neutral backgrounds reinforce this effect, suggesting an indefinite
space, neither close nor distant. The play of light is powerful, revealing
the objects and the air that surrounds them. The centred subject of each
painting is familiar; glass timers, a candle, gems, containers and other
found objects.
Delving more deeply into these seemingly innocuous representations
reveals deeper layers.These disparate items have a Morandi like
significance to the artist, having been in his possession over many years,
serving as reminders of people, places and experiences. The objects have
become enmeshed into his daily life and serve as vehicles for metaphysical
explorations. The placement of these items into a painting assists in our
perception of them as things, disassociated from their functional role, and
how we might name and categorise them, as though seeing them for the
first time.
This initial confrontation with a strange object is what Nyisztor is aiming
for, the immediacy of perception, before time dissolves the initial shock of
recognition and the things that surround us disappear into familiarity and
invisibility. It is inevitable that this will occur, as to have this encounter on
a constant basis would make life unbearably intense...yet it is important
to be reminded of the fundamental experience of reality.
It is part of Nyisztor's modus operandi that he devises titles in advance of
the artwork, laying the conceptual groundwork that accompanies each
painting, but less a title more like a script for the artwork to act out.They
could also be minimal two word poems, expanding into other meanings
that exist alongside the mute renderings in oil paint on canvas.
The title Semi Precious raises more questions. What part is precious and
what part is not? By what criteria do we value objects? Is this value
arbitrary or based on some material or monetary worth? It is this idea of
value that is at the core of this exhibition. How do we measure the value
of things and their meanings, and our interaction with the world?
Trevor Richards