CSABA UGLÁR (1970)
"From Eastern philosophy to the former Galaktika magazine, the intellectual and cultural horizon from which the interest of Uglár, a creator of exceptional erudition among Hungarian artists, is drawn can be sketched. His works are eclectic, which in fact means a particular intellectual way of working." Emese Süvecz
He graduated from the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in 1996. He was in Zsigmond Károlyi's class, which was important because he was the one who started the monochrome painting class at the college. This would later play a significant role in Uglár's work. As early as the mid-1990s he was painting black/monochrome pictures, which he also exhibited at the Újlak Group exhibitions.
Already in the early years works appear alongside his paintings in which he applies various found objects or other objects to the paintings or uses them to create installations. The definition and classification of the genre of these works is not clear, they can be objects, asamblages, site-specific installations. Most of them are characterised by irony, which is reflected in the titles of the works. (For example the title of his installation of solarium tubes on slot machines is Losers and Beautiful Ones.)
Since the 1990s he has been making videos: a surreal world appears in the films, the images loosely connected. Then, in the 2000s, he painted film scenes. In addition to moving images, he has a deep interest in calligraphy and his paintings often contain textual elements.
Three of his early works can be seen at the Veszprém exhibition: Untitled I (aluminium, enamel paint, bearing balls, lacquer, 1996), Untitled (yellow bearing ball, canvas, 1996) and Plexuality (oil on canvas, 1996). The ball bearing paintings are real curiosities within the Irokéz Collection as well. They were made by the artist by coating a sheet of aluminium with black paint and later spraying the balls onto the surface from a ladder. The art historian Sándor Hornyik calls the ball bearing paintings a Universe mapped with industrial tools. One of the paintings also shows an elaborate grid under the balls, similar to astronomical maps.
In 2011 Csaba Uglár appeared in the film Diamond Club, directed by Márton Vécsei, in which he plays an artist who is preparing a rather special performance that he hopes will help him make art history. Csaba Uglár's partner in the film is played by Réka Tenki.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-hPE_tjJcA
His special exhibition Alterego opened at Liget Gallery in January 2020. In this exhibition he presented his recent works: watercolours, oils and inks on torn pages of Philips Auction House catalogues. These works can also be understood as further reflections and reinterpretations of the contemporary art market and the market itself, formulated with humour, irony and criticism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC22RSy6AUU
In 2011 he was awarded the Mihály Munkácsy Prize.
He currently lives and works in Budapest.
