Barred from the academy on political grounds, Krisztián Frey became a key figure of Hungarian Art Informel and Pop art, one of the most original members of the Neo-avant-garde generation, as a self-taught artist. Scriptural painting, the exploration of the artistic potentials of writing and script-like signs, forms an important part of his art. While his work seems most indebted to American Abstract expressionism, he is no gestural painter: the layers of his paintings represent strata of states of mind and memories, and his œuvre includes elements commonly associated with Pop art and everyday trivialities. August ‘68, which he presented at the 1968 Iparterv exhibition, indicates that he was familiar with both movements, while being an important specimen of his signature “grey” paintings, whose ground is black. It is a characteristic example of what he called “gestural painting with an alternating tempo.” In addition to the title that refers to the invasion of Czechoslovakia, there are a number of other dates in the painting, marking the times Frey was working on the piece – indeed, the very surface bears witness to the varying pace at which the layers were applied and left to dry.
Viktória Popovics
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