Spanish Fan III. Painting

Peter Lenkey-Tóth focuses his recent art practice around large-scale oil paintings that depict every-day objects and reveal their poetic qualities through an observant approach. The subject matter is explored in detail and the decision to not focus on the scenery renders its presence almost theatrical, baroque-like. The object emerges from the dark and reveals itself in all of its material, almost tactical complexity. Nevertheless, it maintains a simple and fresh appearance through a monochrome palette. Being an object familiar to the observer’s eye, it incorporates its past, collective and intimate memories in its form. Its presence is loud and eye-catching, but at the same time seems to hide away in the shadow, leaving us with an ambiguous impression. The object appears as if stripped away from human presence. The fleeting traces of human touch that are left attribute a poetic and emotional aspect, a certain melancholy that does not fall into a specific timeframe. An inanimate protagonist embodies the memories and thoughts of the artist as well as the observer.