T.H.c.v.

Biography / Artist Statement / C.V. tiborlhargitai@gmail.com

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TIBOR HARGITAI / T.H. __________________________________________________________

BIOGRAPHY

Tibor Hargitai, is a Hungarian-Canadian visual artist, born in Budapest, lived in North America for three decades and currently living and working in Europe.
Over the past thirty years he has been exhibiting internationally with a focus on his conceptual work “Time-Space-Life”. This work highlights his efforts by breaking moulds and challenging conventional dogmas about contemporary art.

The Time-Space-Life concept started by incorporating mirrors into three dimensional surfaces. To test the creation process these art works were publicly displayed in a way that allowed those viewing the artwork to interact with them in a more visceral way. Asking where does the creation process of the painting end and how does the observer get more involved than just viewing the work but asking them to participate by situating themselves in the art.

He went as far as translating his painting into poems, for nine years, “DOT TO DOT”.
Writing instead of painting, did put an emphasis on mark making, which will come to its full potential in DOTART.
The period resulted in over three hundred Hungarian poems.

In 2014, a new philosophy, concept and method evolved into what he has called “DOTART”. In which he embedded a marking device tethered to a chain in the middle of the canvas. He created new works as well as using past works to embed these markers so as to have the audience participate by adding their own marks to the piece.
This new concept has been exhibited in art galleries, museums and art fairs with hundreds of thousands of participants.
DOTART is an inclusive and interactive art form, since the observers are invited to add to the painting with the installed marker during the show. By design the result is always a ‘dot’ of overlapping information on the surface, hence the name DOTART. It is an equalizer, everyone is equal, no gender, ethnicity or age can be detected on the canvas. The painting is always current, relevant and contemporary. Finally, Time-Space-Life is experienced, and a hundred years after Malevich’s concept of suprematism, now SUPERSUPREMATISM is achieved.

In 2015, to honour women, “DOTART WOMEN” evolved from this concept..This realm of work deals with the questions relevant to women in times of mass migration, phobia, violence and racism. Another series of work was also born out of this concept, “TOTEM WOMAN” in which the art-object itself become a marker in time, space and life.

In 2018, a new series “TO BE OR NOT TO BE” was inspired by a turning point in time, the death of Stephen Hawking. He had tried to warn us about the inherent dangers of Artificial Intelligence. That same day Tibor introduced a new motif into his paintings….a skull. The Skull is an other equalizer. Later a binary computer language also started to fill his canvases with /OIOIOI/. These compositions are a stark reminders of the ever stronger influence of the empowered algorithms on our fragile humanity.

In 2020, he started his “END OF DAYS/ blind as a skull” series. This body of work is focusing on environmental issues, pollution and Artificial Intelligent. Also stretching our understanding of TIME-SPACE-LIFE. All this is in the middle of the pandemic of COVID-19.

ARTSIST STATEMENT

My work is about TIME, SPACE, LIFE
In life, we are all active participants in an ever-changing continuum. Art should reflect this dynamic; connected characteristics of our existence. For the past two decades I have used embedded mirrors in my paintings, inviting the viewers to experience the work in present time. However, I found that they were still not physically, or mentally included. This exclusiveness is typical of western art and therefore, is missing the point. Perhaps it is our inclination towards our pack animal nature to allow our leaders to select for us. In the past, artists would typically accompany a chosen elite whom dictated the taste for art in society. This trend exists in our culture to this very day. As experience drives us away from our conditioned mindset, we become more independent, and self conscious. Increasingly we arrive at recognizing our similarities, and understanding our “oneness.” However, this has yet to be expressed in contemporary paintings. Something needed to change, giving birth to DOTART. It is an evolutionarily new philosophy in Art being inclusive, dynamic and changing. My goal is to bring Art back to the people where it should have been all along. To achieve this, we must realize that all of us are creating and receiving Art simultaneously. How well we do this depends on our understanding of life, ourselves, and others. Knowledge is the only value. This is not a paradox but an illusion, and it is all we have. Sensing this, is part of the reason why today most of us desire to leave our mark. By developing DOTART in 2014, I had found a way to effectively demonstrate Time, Space, and Life as a continuum. By releasing my ego, and letting the process of painting become secondary; the public participates to complete the creation. Each painting starts with a chain installed in the center, with a marker attached at the end. The radius reaches the edge of the picture, defining an area. This surface represents time and space, given to us in life, with the illusion of freewill. The fixed center point dictates the creation of the dot. During an exhibition, people are invited to put their mark on the canvas with the marker; feeding information to the surface, and creating a new image each time a mark is applied—keeping it alive. The result will always be a dot of overlapping information. At the end, the chain is removed from the surface, releasing the painting. Time Space Life can be explained by the point, in which the concept of trinity exists as one. The point is what is real, and the dot is what’s created reflecting an observable illusion; our universe. In 2016, I evolved the DOTART idea further, in the TOTEM WOMAN Series. The totems became the markers in space; anchor points.They stretch between two dots marking earth and sky. In 2018 I started to contemplate about humanity and A.I. we create. Now in 2020 I’m working on my “END OF DAYS’ series blind as a skull. It refers to us all.

: C.V.
: TIBOR HARGITAI

BUDAPEST HUNGARY / TORONTO CANADA

tiborlhargitai@gmail.com
www.tiborhargitai.com

Education

1997 Toronto Digital Media Studios majoring in MULTIMEDIA DESIGN

1986/88 Budapest ICON PAINTING

1981/86 Budapest School of Fine Art majoring in PAINTING

Professional Experience

1990-present exhibiting contemporary art internationally
1986-present creating large scale public art installations

Awards selected: 2019 CANADA COUNCIL for the ARTS “ARTS ABROAD” GRANT
1986 DOMANOVSZKY HONOR PRIZE BUDAPEST HUNGARY
1982 1st PLACE DRAWING BUDAPEST HUNGARY


: Collections
: B.R. Cantor collection Santa Monica USA
B.Manz collection Regina Saskatchewan CANADA
E.Grinberg collection Toronto Ontario CANADA
J.Hennick collection Toronto Ontario CANADA
L.Szasz collection Los Angeles California USA
T.Mercer collection Calgary CANADA
V.Kanwar collection Milton CANADA
A.Gal collection Budapest HUNGARY
P.Lanyi collection Budapest HUNGARY
L.Buzas collection Toronto Ontario CANADA
R.Brown collection Toronto Ontario CANADA
V.Finn collection London UK

Schola Graphidis Budapest HUNGARY
Art Guild L.A. Los Angeles California USA
TA2 Toronto Ontario CANADA
FirstService Corporation Toronto Ontario CANADA
Laurier Arts Corporation Calgary Alberta CANADA
West Art International Calgary Alberta CANADA