Kariatida

Botond Keresztesi is  currently living and working in Budapest. „He creates a seemingly timeless pictorial space, where many historical epochs interact with each other constructing a very unrealisticly absurd space on the canvases. Maybe the artist’s favourite references are pop-culture quotes from the 80s and 90s, as he uses numerous ironic allusions from the visuality of these decades. Keresztesi is always transgressing contexts with his flamboyant use of motifs smuggling the hypnotic visuality of corporate logo culture, advertisement and brands into art history. Keresztesi, with the irrational linking of his images, tends always to be very humorous and absurd. Although elements of the present or reality remain identifiable in his paintings, the context of these is also always very paradoxal. The ambiguousness of the images of Keresztesi bears traces of the post-truth present as well.”

His silkscreen prints, made in collaboration with Heart & Cherry, echo the best of his paintings. The classic motifs are two popular motifs from the famous Hungarian ceramics factory Zsolnay, which also regularly appear in Keresztesi’s paintings. The motifs are enriched with an extra layer of his signature details, reminiscent of machines and robots. The collision of organic detail and artificial elements is made even more disconcerting by the use of titles related to ancient Greek architecture, in keeping with the mix and match principle of internet culture.