Balint Zsako “Blood Orange”

Balint Zsako “Blood Orange”

Foley Gallery

This event has ended.

Foley Gallery together with The Proposition present Blood Orange, the solo exhibition of Balint Zsako featuring large figure paintings and small text paintings that examine the interaction/intersextion of bodies and the complexities of language structure.

The large watercolor paintings on paper depict groupings of nude figures. Rendered in a spectrum of bright hues and gray monochromes, the bodies change color or density in the areas where they come together. There are perfectly lined up eyes, heads, hands and feet, raising the question of whether the figures agree in their action or struggle for control through an open-ended narrative.

While the large watercolors show complex figure arrangements absent of landscape or relatable objects, the small text centered paintings describe the inverse; furnished environments devoid of people. They depict phrases with characters constructed out of sticks, neon lights or a swarm of flies and refer to the social and personal complexities of communication in the contemporary world. Their message is not clear, but function together with the elements they are built from to create sophisticated riddles. The words mirror the structures of language; they may fragment and disappear into chaos or form sentences meticulously assembled to form a permanent monument.

Each set of distinctive paintings maintains an absence, beckoning the other to come together to complete a meaning. Figures and words ignite a dialogue from across the room, inviting one another toward a solution, letting us complete the thought.

Balint Zsako was born in Budapest, Hungary and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. At a young age, Zsako’s family immigrated to Canada. Balint studied at Ryerson University in Toronto, and is a recipient of the Ontario Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant. He has had solo exhibitions at VOLTA NY, Jason McCoy Gallery and The Proposition.

Media

• Painting
• Drawing

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