Nádler, István: Hommage à Néray Katalin (2007)

István Nádler made this painting as homage to Katalin Néray, former director of Ludwig Museum. The surface of the large format painting is divided into a white and a black field, at the bottom of which two narrow violet and red fields issue from the centre of the image. The top left section is covered by a horizontal thin black strip, while on the ride side, a thin white strip issues vertically from the top of the image, counterpoints to the large white and black surfaces. On this geometric base appear two light blue easel marks, issuing from the bottom centre of each large field, gradually fading into evanescence towards the centre of the fields. In István Nádler’s paintings, colours have meaning beyond themselves. In this case, we might assume that the colours black and white symbolize mourning, existence and non-existence, and ultimately, the duality (light and dark, good and bad…) permeating the world. This association is reinforced by the picturesque gesture originating from the two warm colours, relieving the closed finiteness of the heavy black and white blocks with their pure blue flame, transmuting the painting into a spiritual and meditative space. (Krisztina Szipőcs)