János Sugár’ first exhibition at the acb Attachment presents a selection of the artist’s works from the 1980s, many of which had not previously been shown in a comparable solo exhibition. These drawings—created mainly using watercolor, and at times supplemented with collage elements and various reproductive graphic techniques—form three distinct groups.
The first group is linked to Sugár’s period with the Indigo Group, particularly the Drawing Course (1982–83), and is accordingly defined by conceptual and cognitive content. In the second group—partly resulting from the artistic direction he developed in his first solo exhibition at the Bercsényi College in 1984—the emphasis is on design and “architectural thinking”; in some cases, objects were directly made from drawings.
The third group consists of two framed reliefs that translate Sugár’s film Persian Walk (1985) into sculptural form. These identical works were originally exhibited in his solo show Exhibition-Set-Exhibition (Fényes Adolf Hall, 1985).
The exhibited works explore different aspects of “imagery” while outlining the trajectory of the artist’s career and interests throughout the 1980s. At the same time, they provide intriguing insights into the post-heroic period following the neo-avant-garde, and into the “post-conceptual” encounter between expressive-sensory, gestural practices and the legacy of analytical-conceptual art.