Momentary coincidence is called a conjunction. It might be accidental or intended, but in both cases the phrase denotes a phenomenon that displays a meaning surpassing itself. János Fodor is an excellent observer. He comes and goes in the world, noticing minute details that are self-existent, but for him, these connect with other elements of reality seen at the same time and place. Simple facts lead to association, to seeking connections. Through this process, the selected thing becomes related to another selected thing, thus turning into a channel of meaning. Reality is full of minute details that can become meaningful if matched properly. One of the artists tasks might be to call attention to these relations, stating that our world is a surface filled with conjunctions waiting to be discovered.
The connecting link of Fodor´s oeuvre, encompassing several media, is analytic, exploratory behaviour. Be it drawing, photography, object or video, the works display gestures that disclose the hermetic dimensions of the cognition of reality.
If there are model conditions to be found in his works, his photographs definitely conform to them. Surprising conjunctions, mostly found in urban environment, call attention to the interpretable accidentality. Street objects, posters, stickers and signs radiate humour and the happiness of recognition.
His objects may well be interpreted as projections of seeking connections: his installations and sculptures constructed of found objects display art historic and common associations pertaining to material culture. In his compilations, twentieth century concept- and pop-mentality meets the practice of artistic awareness.
Fodor´s videos provide another aspect of his view of the world. Besides the short films expressing the aesthetic and philosophical beauty of accidental events, lately he has been recording sequences exploring the artistic aspects of movements and gestures. A pen leaving a trace on the wall, a geometric shape tapped by ballet shoes on the plaster or the sight of a piece of clothing lashing against the wall; the sight and sound of these convince the viewer in their simplicity of the value and richness of the tiniest details of reality.
A drawing is the most personal mark of the artist. In Fodor´s case, his lines consequently depict and align simply drawn figures, which narrate general emotions and relations through their shape and movements, with the help of the ever so acknowledged world of cartoon culture.
The unity of this artistic activity arises exactly from its diverseness. The more sides of the same experience he sheds light on, the better he can render its beauty and lovability perceptible. Although Fodor is a man of words, he just cannot tell everything about his experiences. His means of communication beyond verbality is art, with he help of which he can direct focus on such things that most of us would fail to notice.
Zsolt Petrányi
EXHIBITIONS
BIOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
2001 – 2004
Intermedia Department, University of Fine Arts, Budapest
SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS
2002 – 2002
Studio of Young Artists' Prize (with Tibor Horváth)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Peace. Safety. Trust., GYROS IN THE POCKET, Budapest
2022
Gradient, Kisterem, Budapest
2018
Videnda, Kisterem, Budapest
Ataraxia, Sesztina Gallery, Debrecen
2014
Overmorrow, Grimmuseum, Berlin (D)
2011
Kisterem, Budapest
2010
Kisterem, Budapest
L.A.Galerie, Frankfurt, Art Cologne (D)
2008
Lada Projekte, Berlin (D)
2007
Kisterem, Budapest
2006
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (D)
fix, Impex Gallery, Budapest
2004
hellp, Fészek Klub, Budapest
2003
‘..’. Polish Institute, Budapest (with Agnieszka Brzeżańska)
2002
JAVA – series, Balázs Béla Stúdió, Budapest (documentary films & events, with Tibor Horváth)
„élek” – series, Knoll Gallery, Budapest (interviews and reports, with Tibor Horváth)
2001
Investment, Bercsényi Galéria, Budapest
Futro public art project, Budapest (with Tibor Horváth)
1999
Instant, Stúdió Galéria, Budapest
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
FÉL1ooMÉLY ÉV 1 PINCEMŰHELYBEN, Vajda Lajos Stúdió, Szentendre
Káli Art Inn, Köveskál
2020
Finally We Can Learn Something, Kincsem Palace (organised by Kisterem), Budapest
2019
Listing VIII., Kisterem
Bauhaus100. Programme for the now – Contemporary Viewpoints, Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest
2018
Scale, Új Budapest Galéria, Budapest
2015
All you can eat, Kreuzberg Pavilion, Berlin (D)
2014
Report on The Constuction of A Spacehip Module, New Museum, NY (USA)
SPAR, Kreuzberg Pavilion, Berlin (D)
2013
The Emperor's New Apparel, Trafó Gallery, Budapest
2012
Heimat,Wuste,Herberge, Grauer Hof, Aschersleben (D)
Haunting Monumentality, Gallery Plan-B, Berlin (D)
Listing, Kisterem, Budapest
2011
Never Odd or Even, Grimm Museum, Berlin (D)
Kalifornia, Trafó Gallery, Budapest
2010
Malkasten, Dusseldorf (D)
2009
Solyst, SAIR/VAK, Copenhagen (DK)
Kalifornia, Trafó Gallery, Budapest
2008
Preview Berlin, Impex
Indoor-Outdoor Kisterem, Budapest
Pampero Apartments, Berlin (D)
Infernesque, Berlin (D)
2007
Futurama or re-inventing tradition? CHB, Berlin (D)
Imaginary Paradises, Foto Rio, Parc des Ruínas, Rio de Janeiro (BR)
2006
Bucharest Biennale 2, Bucharest (RO)
Steiler Konter, Bregenzer Kunstverein, Bregenz (AT)
Urban Explorers’ Festival, CBK, Dordrecht (NL)
Urban Contact Zone, projektgruppe, Hamburg (D)
Repetition Kisterem, Budapest
Estranged Proximities Latitude 53, Edmonton, Canada (CA)
Generally Believed,ex-Mongolian Embassy, Berlin (D)
2005
Gallery by Night 05, Studio Gallery, Budapest
Green Wind, public video projection, Budapest
Private Matter?, Kunsthalle, Budapest
2004
Poesis, Műcsarnok/Kunsthalle, Budapest
Last East European Show, Museum of Contemporary Art, Beograd, (SR)
Hidden Holocaust, Műcsarnok/Kunsthalle, Budapest
Unframed Landscapes, Dunaújváros – Zagreb – London
Fresh, Kogart Art Foundation, Budapest
Girls and Guns, Dorottya Gallery, Budapest (with Róza El-Hassan)
Soap Opera, Kunsthalle, Budapest
Lost & Found, CBK, Dordrecht (NL)
2003
Transmissionen, Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Stuttgart, Germany (D)
2002
Hot Destination – Marginal Destiny, suburban shopping mall, Dubrovnik, Croatia (HR)
Budapest Box, Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest
2001
Malice et Danube, Galérie de l’École des beaux arts, Marseille, France (FR)
2000
StaticNoise, Institute of Contemporary Art, Dunaújváros
Climate, Műcsarnok/Kunsthalle, Budapest
1999
RealArt, Trafó, Budapest
Aritmia 5, Institute of Contemporary Art, Dunaújváros