Works at: Seoul Art Space_GeumCheon
Stays in: 2014
Genre: Sculpture/Installation
Website: http://www.bajota.com/
Profile:
Marosvasarhely, Romania, 1982
Education
2003-2009 MKE Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest, sculptor department, professors: Karmo Zoltan and Jovanovics Gyorgy
2004-2009 Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest, pedagogic department
2007 Erasmus Foundation scholarship, Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Nurnberg, ClausBury class.
2001-2003 UVT Academy of Fine Arts Timisoara, Romania, sculptor department, Szakats Bela class
1997-2001 Liceul de Arte Tg. Mures school, Romania, professors: Pal Peter, Gyarmathy Janos
Exhibition
2013 Utopiatrap, Viltin Gallery, Budapest (H)
Utopiatrap, KAIR, SOU Aurela Stodolu (SK)
Derkovits - now, Kunsthalle, Budapest (H)
Referral, amaTaR, AMA, Budapest (H)
2012 Make sure you bring some booze!, Parthenon-friz Terem, MKE, Budapest (H)
The cell, Akvarium, Budapest / MODEM, Debrecen (H)
2011 Viltin Project, Viltin Gallery, Budapest (H)
Speaks for itself - The FKSE annual exhibition, MNG (Hungarian National Gallery), Budapest (H)
Amplitude, Reformed Church Samorin (SK)
Social Bazaar, Studio Gallery, FKSE, Budapest (H)
2010 Placcc, Menekulesi utvonal, Budapest (H)
Kiallitas, Studio Gallery, Budapest (H)
2009 Best of Diploma, MKE, Barcsay room, Budapest (H)
2007 Human Lights, Kunsthaus, Nurnberg (D)
Residency
2013 artist in residence, KAIR, Kosice, Slovakia
2012 artist in residence, Meet Factory, Prague
2011 artist in residence, Kunstlerhaus, Salzburg
Awards and support
2013 Derkovits Gyula fine art scholarship
2011 NKA (National Cultural Foundation) creative sponsorship
2010 Communitas Foundation scholarship
2008 Semmelweis University, Doctor portraits
2008 Ludwig Foundation scholarship
2007 Erasmus Foundation scholarship
Membership
FKSE (Studio of Young Artists Association)
MAOE (Association of Hungarian Creative Artists)
Works:
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| Trap, 2011, wood, used oil, ceramics, 115 x 96 x 96 cm |
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| THAT IS THAT, 2011, plaster, wood, polyester, acryl, 275 x 165 x 170 cm |
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| cloud, 2005, polyester, acrylic paint, 44 x 68 x 31 cm |
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| hidden gun, 2007, book, 29 x 21 x 4, 24 x 16 x 4 cm |
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| PRACTICALITY HABITS, 2012, wood, aluminium, steel, variable size |
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| THE PRACTICAL SCULPTURE, 2009, aluminium, steel, variable size, 100 x 140 x 100 cm, 4 x 140 x 100 cm |
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| THE PRACTICAL SCULPTURE, 2009, aluminium, steel, variable size, 100 x 140 x 100 cm, 4 x 140 x 100 cm |
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| kicker, 2004, straw, 120 x 200 x 100 cm |
An Artistic Way to Cope with the
Environment
Park Soon Young, Curator(SeMA Nanji
Residency of Art)
Bajóta (Balazs Jozsef Tamas) has worked
based on the idea that his work has to be movable and free from any restriction
of space. Since 2009 his works, including the <Practical Sculpture>
series, have adopted a way of folding and unfolding to reflect this idea.
Inspired by pop-up books, the series could be a solution to storage and
transport problems installation artists face because it can be unfolded when
exhibited and folded away after an exhibition without requiring any process of
assembling or disassembling before and after exhibition. It can be said he is
not only artistically creative but also creative in solving problems hard to
solve to live as an artist. However, the way he has devised is not simply for
easy storage and moving but derives from his interest in the environment. We
can say that’s important.He is very interested in his surrounding environments,
encompassing nature, language, and society. Each individual is encircled with
such environments. Intellectualists see the environment as an object to be
defined and usable whereas anti-intellectualists realize that the environment
is inseparable from humans and cannot be an object since all including humans
are elements composing the environment. What’s important is balance. As the
environment is harmonic, each element has to maintain its balance at the border
of action and reaction. Bajóta is an artist who is well aware of this. We can
confirm this from the fact that the theme he puts importance on in his
representative series, such as <Kraal>, <Jump>, and <Trap>,
is the “border”. The environment stands for the border around the artist, a
limit to overcome, and at the same time a space he has to harmonize with. He
assumes an attitude to be in accord with and overcome his surroundings. His
sculptural pieces conceived in the form of pop-up books reflect this attitude.
He lays down several conditions for the continuation of this work: “I do not
use readymades or waste articles; my work has to guarantee easy movement and
storage; my work reacts to surrounding environments rather than being executed
only in the studio; and I work on large pieces while using materials easy to
treat”. He executed work meeting these conditions in May 2014 at the Seoul Art Space_Geumcheon.
He wove together six apples trees he had purchased by intersecting them and
executed a performance of holding them for six hours. Viewers could participate
in the performance, holding them in lieu of the artist. He documented this on
video and planted the trees in the backyard after the performance. Echoing the
conditions the artist himself established, this work was sufficient to address
issues of equilibrium, border, and his surroundings. I thought about my
attitude toward our surroundings and balance in life when seeing the artist
with a resolute look who added his strength to the trees supporting one another.
