Zsolt Asztalos

Zsolt Asztalos is represented by Ani Molnár Gallery in Budapest, Hungary.

Born in 1974, Asztalos lives and works in Budapest.
He graduated from the University of Fine Arts, Budapest in 1999 in Dora Maurer’s class.
Asztalos has exhibited throughout Hungary and Europe.

He represented Hungary at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 with his project 'Fired but Unexploded.'
His art focuses on the past in several aspects. In the previous years his research turned to the topic of art history editing how the canon is written. He also analyses both physical material and the intellectual meaning of artworks. He uses various media in his work, including: installation, film, video, photography, graphics, etc.

Zsolt Asztalos, Unknown Artists Installation view 2014–2019

A canon is tradition itself. Apparently, a canon is a social agreement on certain questions. However, writing a canon is the privilege of a small group. Who is in the canon or who is left out depends greatly on the individuality of this small group. In spite of this, a canon is born, whose basic undeniable parts cannot be taken away or complemented. A canon claims respect. Since it is created by a small number of people, we can say that other people would not have created the same canon and would not have extended it onto the whole society. This way, I as an individual, would have created a different version myself. Everyone can have their own ’canon’, their own version.
The way of thinking about the past or a canon can be formed or changed, as it is not exclusively about the original truth but about ourselves.