Agnes Von Uray

First soak up the light and then let it shine forth

Many will know me as Ágnes Szépfalvi. I used to paint female figures in traditional female roles based on film stills, pictures from magazines or montages, isolating the depicted content from the original context, placing them in new, personal situations. As a woman I painted the way men see women, often vulnerable and in a role of a victim. Then, ten years ago I gave up this imagery altogether. My new work came with a change of name, and since 2010 my pseudonym has been Agnes von Uray. I have carried on with the roleplay, only my figures are more complete, with decidedly harmonious personalities. Playful women, beaming girls and girlfriends in glamorous colours look at the viewer form the canvas, each of them “goddess within all of us”. Painting, the sensual power of colours and drawing hold special importance to me. That’s chiefly because I have a gift in that department, and I believe it is a calling. I respect the given theme and have responsibility towards it.

I yearn for freedom: light and shining.

The Hungarian University of Fine Arts