In the second exhibition organized by Nagyházi Contemporary, we gain insight into the radical creative world of Attila Dóczi.

Attila Dóczi: Fragments Of Eternity
Curated by Zsófia Danka
October 9 - 30, 2020
Nagyházi Contemporary, Budapest

The artist’s latest solo exhibition, Fragments of Eternity, displays pieces from the series Powerformat, Shape of Noise and Trophy. Dóczi’s work presents preserved remnants of an unknown utopia set in the distant future in which installations have survived as romanticized, reinterpreted memories of our world today. In this imaginary future, the striking aesthetic elements of the period after the change of regime – still closely tied to our near-past experiences – will be revived, in some cases with a humorous undertone. Dóczi smuggles bold elegance and heavy irony into his compositions through the flamboyant use of material and colour. An unrestrained flow between a wide range of media characterizes the artistic practice of Dóczi. His installations transcend traditional notions and definitions of the artwork and can be interpreted as appropriated, found objects that appear as fragments of eternity.

The digital revolution of the ‘90s had a decisive effect on Dóczi's visual world. The typical colours and shapes of this period serve as significant inspirational references for the artist. In Dóczi’s utopian universe, the embarrassing nostalgia of faded neon colours are mixed with the brittle structure of metals and the rough and tense quality of different plastic elements. Besides the hope for freedom in an unfolding, new era, there is a subtly perceptible projection of the growing vulnerability of humankind in the context of technology. A world emerges where the torn posters and installations could be the decoration of a rave party of this imaginary era or a trend-historical relic of an phantasmagorical future.

While in the series titled Powerformat the sheer physical forces inspired by torn advertisements provides only a fragment of the equation, the series Shape of Noise transforms this phenomenon to create new layers of meaning. The continuous noise of consumer society – the never-ending flow of advertisement pitches and merchandise strategies – manifests and is combined with the typical materials of industrial production. Reproduced graphics and factory-generated mass production surfaces. As is the Trophy-series, the selection and inclusion of packaging materials, styrofoam, building construction elements and posters play an important role in Dóczi's creative process. The artist deploys plastic accessories, chains and ready-made objects in his installations, sometimes breaking through the artworks and creating new narratives by rearranging these diverse elements carefully by hand.

The violent tactility of the tear marks alternates with the remixed nature of the industrial injection-moulded memorabilia. The energy of the explosive and claw-like forces that appear in Dóczi's works induces strong futuristic feelings, conjuring up the world of comic book superheroes. At the same time, nonfigurative ornaments and ocelot patterns – the trends of the current mainstream – are evoked as remnants of a bygone aesthetic. The installation works appear as jigsaw pieces or as last mementoes of a distant, overturned world order. The stages of this post-capitalist creation myth are status, sexuality, and the increasing accumulation of waste. Apart from providing a complex visual experience, Dóczi is also invested in the idea of providing a platform, where the viewer can sober-up and realise how the material presented in the exhibition alludes to an all-encompassing, worldwide phenomenon. These artificial elements merge with our natural environment and start to decay with alarming slowness. No matter how hard we try, they will survive much longer than humanity itself.

Photos by Tamás Leskó ©Nagyházi Contemporary