Tamás Varjasi [antikvár]

TAMÁS VARJASI Born in 1947 in Kustánszeg, Zala county, in a region of gentle hills and huge forests, as a second child of an artloving family. In this desolate place of Hungary, he was surrounded by ancient architecture and living folk art. He brought from here his sensitiveness for reality and his attachment to rustic forms of expression. Moving to Budapest with his family meant for him the loss of this harmony and peacefulness. In this new world of hectic life he found his place very soon by retaining the peaceful past and dreaming about the future. Finished his schools in Budapest. While searching for self-expresslon, he played the gultar In amateur bands but his talent turnéd him towards fine-art. He began to carv small decorative objects out of wood, stone and bones. His bone-carvings brought for him the first serious merits. After leaving the secondary school, he was not admitted to the Academy of Applied Arts, so he satlsfled his need for art-making in different educational artist promoting circles. In 1974 he became member of the Art Foundation of the Hungárián People's Republic. He took state examination on easthetics In 1978. Preparing the leather and the making of objects for use and decoration out of it is even-aged with the most ancient arts like dance and music. Leatherwork was a most popular profession of the conquesting Magyars because of the easily and everywhere available natural raw material. The mainly herdsman-made relics from the end of the past century, the leather-bindings of Corvina books from King Matthias and the leatherwork of Baroque furniture are proving the high level of artistic perfection reached in our land. Since 1969 the artist works only with leather. Interesting enough, he had never chosen easily elaborable, soft, smooth, thin skin as basic material. He felt from the beginning that a 3-5 mm thick skin offers him the real possibility to create works responding to the critería of sculptures. Wall decorations, space-division elements, reliefs, small and bigger sculptures are marking the steps of the road ön which - building of such material - noone preceded him. Working phases; - drawing the subject - making the pattern out of wood, fire-clay - racking the soakened leather - pressing several times - elaboration of fine details with bone-slab This work necessitates not only a rare talent but physical force as well, because the thick skin must obey the artist's will. Only a powérful artist, not knowing tiredness can practise this magié by elaborating out of this hard material fine wrinkles to his portrait-faces and by changing smooth humps to definite trends on his abstract compositions. As a result of mentái and physical concentration he is looking into the leather his own soul's dream on beauty. The message of beauty is the unreachable, the mysterious, the eternal Eva. The smooth humps of the female body represent his nostalgy for a happy, care-free life. Sometimes he is abstracting by pointing to the spot of beauty in his work by a faintly occuring detail of the female body. His man portraits are approaching the humán being from the opposite side. Faces with hard wrinkles, malicious smiles, wise unconcern; men marching to the end of a toilsome life. Symbols of loneliness, misunderstoodness, unsatisfiedness. These men could meet with beauty only in theír dreams. His first panel pictures reflect his self-ruining soul's fights. The internál tension caused explosion and resulted in broken fields, alienáted continents and deep-dark ditches ín between. He felt, something broke down, something irreparable has happened to him and to the world. The reality had disappeared from.his works. His abstract pictures are born in pain showing blighted prospects. His forms of expression became more powérful and his latest reliefs are representing the flght between beauty and ugliness, good and bad. He had numerous one-man shows and participated in colíective exhibitions In Hungary: Komárom, Kecskemét, Oroszlány, Sopron, Dunaújváros, Zalaegerszeg, Martfű, Tatabánya, Tata, Nyíregyháza, Vác, Soltvadkert, Budapest Cultural Centre, Angyalfőid Cultural Centre, Csili Gallery, Vízivárosi Gallery, Mednyánszky Hall, Castle Theatre Gallery. In Austria: Vienna, Baden, Graz In Western Germany: München, Tübingen, Ulm, Itzehoe In Italy: Venezia, Bari, Milán In the Netherlands: Groníngen, Eindhoven.