Strabag Painting Prize 2008

The STRABAG Épitő Zrt. [STRABAG Construction Zrt.], (formerly, Magyar Aszfalt Kft. [Hungarian Asphalt Kft.]) first announced its competition showcasing young Hungarian painters under 40 years of age in 1997. Each year 80-100 entries are received for judging. A prestigious professional jury (†Katalin Néray, Lóránd Hegyi, Márta Kovalovszky, Krisztina Jerger, Zsolt Petrányi, and from 2008 on Barnabás Bencsik, and occasionally Anna Bálványos, József Készman) was able to track the works of young artists from year to year. As a result, in the course of such critical review, works that most significantly represent a particular theme or tendency in painting, whether contemporary or traditional in style, can come to the foreground. In addition to the major trends, there are paintings and artists, of course, who walk an individual path, works that are on the perimeter of the discipline. This year, 109 artists submitted works for the STRABAG Painting Award Competition.

First Prize was awarded to Lilla BORSOS-LŐRINC. The artist, born in 1980, developed an emblematic visual language in which she reflects on the current political, cultural and media events of the day. Her vivid, at times metallic colors also call attention to the emptiness behind the glitz and glitter. In her works the narrative character of the painted surface is linked with the nature of the object in the painted image.

The jury granted the four artist assistance awards to András László HATHÁZI, Eszter SIPOS, Claudia TAMÁSI, and Rita VARGA.
András László HATHÁZI, (1978) layers “found” pictures from various sources over each other. Painted with transparent motifs in a photo-realistic style, the result is an eclectic, ambivalent visual structure.
Eszter SIPOS’ (1982) series entitled, “For the Road,” is composed of small tondos, seemingly sized to fit in a pocket. Her works, composed on a white background with black lines reminiscent of comic book illustration, depict advice concerning commonplace life situations. Her illustrative compositions reveal an ironic, at times critical attitude.
Claudia TAMÁSI (1976) in her series paints her own self-portrait in the characteristic style of some of the well-known artist of the 20th century. Her method is a certain encyclopedic overview of earlier artistic directions, which is an homage and criticism at the same time.
Rita VARGA (1973) in her series entitled, “Ophelia,” adapts the Shakespearean story to the current environment such that she posits today’s meaning of the visual message of the female body suspended in water against the original drama. The foundation of the paintings is the photo-documentary of the performance enacted by the artist, which took place at various locations and times.

Members of the jury:
Anna BÁLVÁNYOS, curator of the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art
Barnabás BENCSIK, director of the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art
Lóránd HEGYI, director of Le Musée d’art moderne de Saint-Etienne
Dr. Zsolt PETRÁNYI, director of the Műcsarnok (Kunsthalle)

Curator of the exhibition: Anna Bálványos