PARALLEL ART FOUNDATION
Gergely Horváth
Breadman
2025 09 29 - 11 16
Cairo Contemporary
Gergely Horváth's installation entitled Inventory consists of elements shaped like terracotta galls, enlarged by a change of scale and placed in a warehouse setting. The gall is a powerful symbol for the artist. It simultaneously fulfills the role of a parasite and a life-giving cradle. He believes that this duality, whereby nothing is black and white, i.e. everything is grey, characterizes all areas of life. On the other hand, scouting played an important role in the artist's life for a long time, and the gall is an unavoidable symbol of this in Hungary. He made these forms out of terracotta, striving to choose a material that was as close to the earth as possible. He found clay to be the most suitable for this. The possibility of playful variations hidden in the modularity of the elements is also very inspiring for the artist.
The main starting point for Gergely Horváth's works is nature, through which he examines the relationship between nature and humans. He is concerned with human ecological issues such as how humans relate to nature in a given age and society, and what role it plays in our lives today. Fruits and plant motifs such as galls, trees, and thorns appear as recurring elements in his works, which are associated with both personal and symbolic layers of meaning. The perspective of the child self cannot be omitted from the creative process, which evokes the act of gathering and the experience of marveling at the world. The fruits found in nature are strange formations in themselves, with a diverse range of shapes, each unique and unrepeatable: he emphasizes this way of being in his unique sculptures, which are crafted manually using traditional woodcarving techniques. He most often works with hardwoods—walnut, acacia, or oak—which allow him to create delicate, detailed forms. In addition to other organic materials such as terracotta and living plants, his works are also made of cast metals and iron, because he believes that the contrast between the materials emphasizes the natural-artificial duality. In addition, he always strives to think in new ways about new media and to incorporate new materials into his creative work. Recently, in addition to plastic thinking, he has also been preoccupied with visual thinking: his latest works raise questions such as where the boundary between sculpture and wall sculpture lies and where the image begins.
Gergely Horváth graduated from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in 2025 with a degree in sculpture. He has exhibited at the 2024 National Ceramic Art Triennial at the m21 Gallery in the Zsolnay Quarter in Pécs; in Budapest at the Eötvös10 Gallery and at HAB. In 2021, he won the Amadeus Art Foundation's creative scholarship, and in 2025, and he is a Tamás Vígh Awardee for best sculpture with his diploma work.
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On view 0-24h
Cairo Contemporary, 1071 Budapest, Lövölde tér 7.
Organised by Parallel Art Foundation
Curator: Gábor Pintér
Supported by Erzsébetváros Municipality, Hungarian Art Academny
Cooperation partner: Bischitz Johanna Integrated Human Service Centre
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