“For ants, the sky begins at the tip of a blade of grass. I wonder whether they can see the clouds at all. For me, the sky begins here, above the Royal Castle of Buda. I can simply reach out and stir the clouds up. Then I brush all the clouds away, and a clear blue sky appears above me. The clouds, however, slowly drift back, bringing new ones with them; and that’s when I start to draw, photograph or paint them.”
András Lengyel has chosen April, known for its changeable weather, to present his exhibition. There is perhaps no other month that instils such “effervescence” in us, and provides us with such a varied “sky above Budapest” – with rain, rainbows, fog, ice, towering clouds, and if we are lucky enough, even snow! András Lengyel, whose art work has focused on the sky and its clouds for about twenty years now, presents his cloud project on the first floor of the museum from now through to 9 May. In addition to oil paintings, water-colour series, and photographs sunk into paper-pulp, he has extended this sphere of thought to a new medium: video installation. The visitors can observe celestial phenomena via an outdoor camera. For the duration of this month, the audience may join the artist’s project as “accomplices” in his observation, with the camera pointed to the sky continuously displaying it to us. We may take part in the project this time as observers, instead of those who are being observed.
András Lengyel acquired the radical ideals of the avant-garde alongside the traditional art academy studies. As was the case with many of his contemporaries, the work and personality of Miklós Erdély had a great influence on his work. In 1976, he was a founding member of the artists’ circle, “Rózsa-kör” (The Rose Circle), with members including among others Zsigmond Károlyi, Orsolya Drozdik, Károly Kelemen, Ernõ Tolvaly, and Lóránt Méhes. His works during that period may be connected to Fluxus and Happening. Subsequently, he also joined the Mail Art movement, after which he established the Cloud Museum.
