Moon, Lightning, Laser

Short listing

Godot Galéria presents Moon, Lightning, Laser, an exhibition of previously unshown early paintings by József Szurcsik. These geometric and surreal compositions are shown alongside prints from the years of Hungary’s political transition and more recent works.

Full exhibition text

Szurcsik József is a visual artist, printmaker and painter, performance artist and musician, and a recipient of the Kossuth Prize and the Munkácsy Mihály Prize. He is a former vice-rector of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, an associate professor in its Department of Graphic Arts and its former head of department. Born into a family of artists in 1959, Szurcsik József is a distinctive figure in Hungarian contemporary art who has created an instantly recognisable world. His career began in the years of late socialism and around the political transition. This period is more than a historical backdrop to Szurcsik’s art: the relationship between the individual, their environment and power is a recurring question in his work.

An emblematic motif in his work is the human face, consistently depicted in profile and without distinguishing features – an impersonality that gives it universal relevance. This metamorphic half-profile does not, however, exist only in isolation; sometimes it appears concealed within the landscape, is organised into side-by-side rows and uniform structures, or merges with monumental architectural forms or various geometric shapes. This stylistic element, condensed into a profile, allows him to explore the constantly shifting and reconfiguring relationships between the individual, their environment and power as an ever-open, universal question, without depicting specific bodies.

He also uses distinctive artistic means to capture the ideas of turning away from the present, withdrawal and timelessness. Towards the end of the nineties – perhaps connected with the loss of hope invested in the political transition – Szurcsik retreats into a world of motionless myths. Yet the solidity and protection of ancient Greek culture are like any wall, or like the artist’s Janus-faced wall: they both protect and shut off, while also – as a motif – evoking a multitude of associations.

The diversity of his oeuvre is also evident in the wealth of techniques and genres he uses. Alongside prints and oil-and-acrylic paintings made using a special crackle technique to create an antique effect, it encompasses small-scale sculptures, painted tool sculptures, coloured paper installations and welded metal sculptures. Szurcsik has been exhibiting since 1985, and his works have appeared at numerous international venues, from Sofia and Helsinki to New York. We held his first exhibition at Godot Galéria in 1999. His most recent exhibition opened in early October at the Tornyai János Museum in Hódmezővásárhely, presenting his work as the winner of the grand prize at the Vásárhely Autumn Exhibition in 2025. His works are held in numerous public collections, including the Hungarian National Gallery, the Janus Pannonius Museum in Pécs, the National Gallery in Prague and the Contemporary Hungarian Gallery in Dunajská Streda.

In his exhibition now opening, Szurcsik József presents a special body of work. The visual artist, printmaker and painter’s earliest paintings, hidden for 40 years – and indeed never exhibited before – are being presented to the public: rare geometric and surreal compositions, exciting works full of the energy of an artist at the start of his career. Visitors can also encounter prints from his early period, including the figures of the so-called ‘political transition waxworks’, drawn with merciless irony, which are shown alongside his latest, newly created works.

The exhibition is open until 19 December, Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 and Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00.

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