The Danubiana exhibition entitled MMXXII will feature Ivan Csudai (*1959) a distinctive figure of contemporary Slovak painting. The goal of the exhibition is to showcase his painting program in general with a focus on his recent work. It will also have a characteristic retro-feeling, a fresh remix of iconographic elements and their crystallization in new pictorial configurations and contexts. And so, there will be a déjà vu effect for spectators – a mix of both the already seen and the unknown as metaphorically expressed in the exhibition title. His series of paintings from 2021 and 2022, which feature the iconic Teddy bear, “a silent witness” of visual events and defenseless stuffed hero (his melancholic alter ego), constitutes the core of Csudai’s presentation. His characteristic attributes such as skulls, flags, fish, heads, little birds, that also appear have spanned generations. The entire performance is covered by a new layer or net of stains, spatters and color streaks. This series of canvases is complemented by “living room paintings,” which are about the “settling in” painting of furnished interiors – cramped with sofas, armchairs, chests of drawers, mirrors, lamps as well as the omnipresent “teddy bear-dog/cat dog”. His cooperation with colleague Šimon Kučera (*1996) comprises a special chapter of this exhibition and a visual dialogue of two painting approaches (Kučera’s geometric color fields and Csudai’s contours) and non-standard formats of ellipses which support the intense cosmic dialogue in the “Saturn Space” style. The exhibition has been tailor-made for the Danubiana’s premises and is installed on two levels – the ground floor presents works on paper (drawings and prints) while the first floor is dominated by a visual celebration of acrylic painting. It presents Csudai’s unique painting ideas and autonomous vision of the world, while offering a necessary look at his recent painting and innovative iconography and opening new space for progression.
Vladimír Beskid
Prof. Ivan Csudai (born in 1959 in Svodov) – this significant Slovak painter, graphic artist, art rocker and academy teacher, lives and works in Bratislava. From 1981 to 1987 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava and since 2001 he has served there as head of the 4th studio of the Department of Painting; in 2005 he was appointed professor. His discography from 1992 to 2011 includes 7 solo albums and 2 albums with the group Sleepy Motion. Selected solo exhibitions: 2020 - Modrá lampa (Blue Lamp with Michal Černušák), MVL Košice; 2019 – V zrkadle maľby (In the Mirror of Painting), Ján Koniarek Gallery, Trnava; 2017 – Untitled, White & Weiss Gallery Bratislava; 2017 – Druhá retrospektíva 2010 – 2017 (Second Retrospective), SSG Banská Bystrica; 2016 – Ars interpretandi, PGU Žilina; 2015 – Positives, SOGA Bratislava; 2014 – Autobiograf (Autobiographer), Alfa Gallery, Kulturpark Košice; for more info, see www.ivancsudai.sk
