In 2006 four artists (Bartl, Dréher, Gáll, Serényi) conceived the idea of founding the Matéria Art Society and since then the group has been constantly expanding and evolving.
In the last ten years the members of the company have participated in eight exhibitions: József Baksai, József Bartl†, István Birkás, János Dréher, Ádám Gáll, István Harasztӱ, György Jovánovics, Ferenc Kis-Tóth, László Kovács†, M. András M. Novák, László Paizs†, Zsigmond H. Serényi, Tamás Szikora†, Zoltán Tölg-Molnár, Gábor Záborszky and the later associates Sándor Bátai, Tibor Budaházi, Nándor Hérics, Natália Mazalin and Zoltán Székács.
The exhibition now taking place in the Csikász Gallery is an opportunity for fourteen artists of the Matéria Society to present themselves in Veszprém.
The exhibiting artists:
József Baksai, Sándor Bátai, István Birkás, Tibor Budaházi, János Dréher, Ádám Gáll, István Harasztӱ, Nándor Hérics, Natália Mazalin, András M. Novák, Zsigmond Serényi H., Zoltán Székács, Zoltán Tölg-Molnár, Gábor Záborszky.
In the delimited, almost closed, yet permeable spaces of the gallery, it is possible to create new constellations by associating and separating the works on display with special attention to the use of materials, differences in genre, style and perception. In other words, the paths taken separately, each reinforcing the autonomy of art, while leading back to common origins.
What unites and defines the identity of the artists is the spirituality of their art, which combines materiality with spirituality. Their ideas are incarnated in the material as a means of expression, freely using and ennobling the materials of the world around them: from decaying earth to metal, wood, textiles, paper, plaster, paint and light encased in glass.
Four basic directions can be identified in the use of materials and the effects of the company's members' factures: works made using plaster techniques, works that present paint material as a thick mass, minimalist and conceptualist works that explore the properties and qualities of different materials and techniques in the most restricted and simplest sense possible, and combined works that draw on the worn-out objects, the latest product waste and the materials of modern mass civilisation's consumer culture.
From a different approach, one could name different directions - contemporary art being what it is - from abstract expressionism to geometric abstraction, from lyrical abstraction to gesture painting, or referring to works related to these, or even to aspirations linked to kinetic art... but unnecessary. More important insights can be gained by those who can participate in the deep contemplation that the artists of the Matéria Art Society practice every day in the creation of their works.
To quote Tihamert Novotny: "One can almost feel - see, touch, hear, taste, smell - all that the members of the Matéria Art Society, leaning into and above existence, immersed in and drawn from life, are able to articulate through the language, behaviour, alchemy, fabric and layers of materials, individually and collectively." Ádám Gáll
