Saint John Arts Centre, New Brunswick, November 5, 2010 – January 8, 2011
See the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal’s review article of November 20th 2010, entitled “Two Points, One Home” HERE
November 14th 2010
By Kevin Burns
In her exhibition catalogue, Dr. Mary Keczan-Ebos says that the intent of Re:InSitu is to provide Canadian visual artists with a Hungarian-Canadian connection an opportunity to go “on a journey ‘home’ as well as a journey abroad.” In some cases, that home, says the curator, takes the form of the physical landscape or an actual place in Hungary. In other cases, “home” is more of a metaphoric space that the participating artists – members of the Canadian Hungarian Artists Collective – have created in their work or carry within themselves in their thoughts and feelings. “Those of us who are the descendants of the Hungarians who immigrated to Canada, our family’s histories as well as our ephemeral memories of our homeland are connected to the place we are – “in situ,” explains Keczan-Ebos.
Now, after being seen in museums in Hungary during the summer of 2009, (see on this page of our website) the exhibition is on view once more in Canada, this time at the Saint John Arts Centre in New Brunswick.
Andrea Blanar speaks at the opening reception
What follows are key words and phrases used by the exhibition’s artists and curators when they talk about their explorations of “here”, “there” and “home”:
Anna Biró (Montreal, QC): “….the fabric of our society … our interconnectedness as social
beings, and a personal desire for communication and collaboration.”
Susan Bárdos-Dobbek (MontrealQC): “…very important for me to connect to my roots, as my mother, the only person who can recount tales of Hungary, is ageing.”
Andrea Blanar (Montreal, QC): “…these marshes have become for me the focal point in which all of life’s experiences are reinterpreted.”
Mary Blatherwick, Chair, Board of Directors, Saint John Arts Centre; Heather White Brittain, Director, Saint John Arts Centre; Anna Torma, fabric artist; Andrea Blanar, exhibition organizer and artist
Alex Brzezinski (Montreal, QC): “…. a mysterious entry into another realm that unsettles–that poses questions that remain unanswered.” (Curator’s words)
Andrea de Gosztonyi (Montreal, QC): “I see nature as a catalyst that stimulates an understanding of our humanity.”
Sophie Fekete-Fehér (Montreal,QC): “I ask myself: is our experience of reality so linked to
representation that we can never get out of our own culture?”
Éva Ferenczy Reichman (Terrasse-Vaudreuil, QC): “ Some venture out far beyond their
home where safe walls protect them, while others choose to stay inside and observe with longing, too apprehensive to go out into the unknown: a magical journey.”
Géza Hermann (Montreal, QC): “….create a certain spatial relationship within a context related to land, home, roots, and earth.” (Curator’s words)
Mária Jankovics (Montreal, QC): “a statement against all wars that are still raging. It is a call for peace in the world.”
István Kántor (Toronto, ON): “….a comment on the power and authority of today’s broadcast technology and ……long-term initiative to redefine the body as a transmission device.” (Curator’s words)
Mary Keczan-Ebos (Burlington, ON): “I feel compelled to understand the origins of peoples with no written history.”
Ági Kéri-Szeben (Montreal, QC): “I continued to return to these memories … of sky and grass in Hungary now blend with the Tantramar Marshes near the Bay of Fundy and their equally compelling ever changing vistas.”
Judith Klugerman (Montreal, QC) “….calligraphic texts of Hungarian poems that she learned as a child. “(Curator’s words)
Emilia Klun (Niagara on the Lake, ON) “The works … have an aboriginal source; the rituals and dances as forms of consciousness are interwoven both spiritually and concretely….”
Doreen Lindsay-Szilasi (Montreal, QC): “I was fascinated by the diversity of indigenous plants.”
Lisa Hrabluk, Executive Director, Saint John 225 Celebrations; Mike Parker, volunteer; Beth Asimakos; Heather White Brittain; Andrea Blanar
Jeannette Pekári (Montreal, QC): “My work is characterized by both idealism and playfulness.”
Péter Pusztai (Montreal, QC): “…there is meditation … and then follows the suffering … torn out from the deepest organs of the soul.” (Words of journalist, Gabor Cseke)
Júlia Rajcsányi-Ciamarra (Montreal,QC): “I explore the parallel that exists within the waterways which both separate and connect us to our past and to each other.”
Milós Rogan (Montreal, QC): “….patterns… connects the lines- strokes and joins the planes and shapes to reveal a personal narrative that flows freely and sensually.” (Curator’s words)
Kristi Ropeleski (Montreal, QC): “… positioned at the intersection of perception and imagination.”
Clarissa Schmidt-Inglis (Dundas, ON): “… informed by my ongoing displacement and residency in several countries.”
Yvonne Singer (Toronto, ON): “Language as the basis for the formation of thought, memory, consciousness, and identity and as a metaphor for communication and miscommunication.”
Sándor Sipos (Montreal, QC) “….concepts such as: rational/irrational, trivial/sacred, including the archaic primitive elements of contemporary cultures.” (Nina Czegledy’s words)
Sheila Szabó Butler (Toronto, ON): “… speculations on the power of Language.”
Andrea Szilasi (Montreal, QC): “…. a disorganized, fragmented and layered mess, a stew of somber and bright features that reflect clear, orderly thought as well as confused stream of consciousness.”
Gábor Szilasi (Montreal, QC): “…these men and women are for the most part occasional artists in search of identity and human dignity.”
Anna Torma (Baie Verte, NB): “… an intangible connection of shared aesthetics and experiences … demonstrate the tensions and inspirations of our old and new life, the differences and similarities between generations and the varied approaches to the creative process.”
Ági Zóni (Saint-Lazare,QC): “…they can be reshaped, moved, and even replaced, as we too, in time are forever in transition; moving, changing.”
Bálint Zsakó (Toronto, ON) “… tales of love, hope, death, failure and futility…”
Dávid Zsakó ( Baie Verte, NB): “… a sense of struggle between fact and memory … speaks of my journey to rediscover my past in the present.”
István Zsakó (Baie Verte, NB): “…joyful amazement at each scientific revelation” (Curator’s words)
Andrea Blanar with Bernard Cormier, Cultural Affairs Officer, City of Saint John
The complete texts of these comments are contained in the exhibition catalogue with can be viewed and downloaded here: www.chaccanada.org/
In addition to the exhibition, Re:InSitu also features screenings of works by curated by the noted Candian-Hungarian film maker Tamás Wormser, including films by Phillip Borsos, Peter Földes, Péter Horváth, István Kántor, Albert Kish, George Mihalka, John Paizs, George Ungár, and Thomas Vámos. Detailed information about the film screenings can be found on our website HERE.
Lisa Hrablu, Mike Parker, Bernie Cormier, Heather White Brittain, Andrea Blanar
For more information on the Canadian Hungarian Artists Collective: www.chaccanada.org/
Barbara Tekker Brzezinski with her sister Andrea Blanar
All photographs courtesy of Andrea Blanar of the Canadian Hungarian Artists Collective.