Gyula Várnai
About the artist
The unfolding of Hungarian artist Gyula Várnai’s (Kazincbarcika, 1956) art coincides with, and is closely correlated with, the Neo¬-Conceptual tendencies that speared in the early 1990s in Hungary, which among others, materialised in the installation art that at this time took on new momentum. Várnai’s light and sound installations made at this time were the playful realisations of the diversity of material and immaterial phenomena. Alongside the installations that were unrepeatable in their original form, often site¬specific, employing ephemeral materials, in his compositions made in other media, he was able to capture a kind of materialisation. From the early 2000s, he produced more panel picture format works – whether light¬boxes, prints of various techniques, or collages. Having had university education in mathematics and physics and autodidactic studies in astronomy, music and fine art, he prefers using scientific references in his works. Várnai’s themes navigate along the fine line between the artistic and the quotidian, using everyday materials to create striking assemblages. His art has been represented at a number of exhibitions in Hungary. His project Peace on Earth! represented Hungary at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. Gyula Várnai lives and works in Dunaújváros, Hungary.
