General Info
Nickname: Gasztonyi K.
Email:forgasztonyik@peopleandpaintings.com
Country: Hungary
Bio: Art of Kálmán Gasztonyi
Kálmán Gasztonyi was born in Budapest, 1964.He started to study painting when he was 15, his first teacher was János Nagy, a Szőnyi student. He applied to the University of Applied Arts, but was rejected, and instead had a diploma of Civil Egineer. These two experiences influenced his art and professional mentality.
He became the student of Tibor Wessely at the ARTEX Foreign Trade Company’s free spiritual studio, that he counts to be the greatest gift of his life. Despite he was not studying in art Institutions, and maybe because of that, he achieved the painting techniques of classical masters.
His early works appeared in international art markets and exhibits his works since 1992. More than 100 paintings can be found in German private and public collectors. His big size paintings were sold at the biggest auction house of Münich and his two paintings adorn the wall of Dresdner Bank’s Main Hall. His portrait of Sergio Orsi, the former president of the International Association of Kayak and Canoe can be found in Firenze. The portrait of Lajos Ordas, professor of theology can be found in the Lutheran Museum at Deák tér, Budapest, and other four portraits of Teleki are in the collection of Teleki – Degenfeld castle in Szirák, Hungary. The main hall of the La Fabbrica restaurant in Budapest is decorated by his 25 sqm secco.
It has been 10 years already that he is teaching techniques of oil painting, presently as the the Art Leader of Zsilip Art School. The base of his educational theory is encouraging his students to first achieve appropriate technical knowledge before any implementation of private styles. Every year he leads several Art Camps where beside studio oil painting he teaches applicants plain air, pastel, drawing and aquarel. The colour and brush-techniques of romantic masters and the spatial composition based on golden ratio characterizes his painting . He draws with great confidence with the lack of artistic redundancy. Unlike of those artists coming from Art Institutions, he is not canonizing consciously his own works. According to his own confession he is not applying any kind of style in his works, he feels to be closed and limited by them. It’s always the theme that describes its technique offering the feeling of freedom against overregulated life. As he says: ’My periods have no beginnings and no ends, but always stay with me.’
His style and themes can be described as eclectic playfulness and self-contradiction: Once he makes dark background Caravaggio paraphrases, other times self portraits in contrast with naive children-drawing. Sometimes he paints symbolist painting which is an caricature of one of the dictators (Éjsötétke és a négy törpe – Small night darky and the four dwarfs) or floating boat in a hyperrealistic way (Floating, Tethered).
He’s a God Searcher, that’s why much of his oeuvre is made up of adaptations of biblical scenes. In his acts, he often counteracts soft female beauty with explicit sexuality ((Tiny, red ribbon). The human body interests him only in texture, while in his hyperrealistic marble “portraits” he is looking for human (Kiss).
In spite of that it seems difficult to discover both thematic and stylistic continuity in his works, but the engineering regularity, solid editing, and order of thought still weaves a delicate cobweb into his paintings.
EXHIBITIONS
INDIVIDUAL
1993: Munich
2006: Balassi Bálint High School
2015: Budapest, Bálint House
2016: Zsilip „Sluice” Art Center
2017: OTP Bank Gallery, Budapest
2018: Pipacs „Poppy” Gallery, Telki
2019: Pictures painted with wine / vinorell / Advertisement in Hungary
GROUP
2008- present: SolArt Gallery
Neves Kor - Társ Gallery, Vándorfény Gallery, Aranyhíd Gallery, "ex-Képcsarnok" Szőnyi István Gallery, Miskolc; Pro-Art Gallery, Miskolc
2009: Budapest, Miklós Radnóti Memorial Exhibition
2010-2014: Budapest, d2 Gallery
2011: University of Debrecen, Reformed Great Church, Debrecen
2012: Zurich, International Exhibition and Fair
2014: Budapest, Symbol Art Gallery
Jancsó Art Gallery / continuously /
Siófok, Kálmán Imre Cultural Center
Budapest, József Attila Theater
2019: Miskolc, "Ex Picture Gallery" Szőnyi István Gallery, together with Máté Kamarás
London, Grand Designs Live, Tacchini team
Statement: The uploaded works are my own works.