Unseen Amsterdam 2023

acb Gallery | booth 16

For the Past/Present section of Unseen, acb Gallery presents a visual dialogue between two Hungarian photographers of different generations, Katalin Nádor (1938-2018) and Máté Dobokay (b. 1988), both originating from the southern city of Pécs. Known as the cradle of Hungarian Bauhaus, Pécs offers to this day a fertile artistic ground where the artistic and architectural, geometric and constructivist legacy, the Op art tendencies as well as the spirit of the Bauhaus which was open and supportive of versatility, remains tangible.

Beyond formal parallels and correlations such as geometric compositions and organic motifs, lightening and darkening grades or the random play of chemicals on the light-sensitive paper, the dialogue that unfolds between Katalin Nádor’s and Máté Dobokay’s works roots deep in the essence of photography: it highlights how their respective experimental and playful approach to the photographic medium and its matters unfolds into the abstract realm. The pieces selected for the Past/Present section of Unseen obscure the subject of the photograph and blur the border distinguishing photograms, chemigrams and photographs. Although they result in seemingly ethereal, almost disembodied images or compositions, they also bear witness of both artists’ physical presence: photography is not only a medium for the eye, but also for the mind and the hand.

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