The Magnificent Sculptures Of Ágnes Nagy Combine Reality, Imagination, Nature & Mysticism

Hungarian Sculptor Ágnes Nagy has been developing her career as a sculptor since childhood. At a very young age she attended the Medgyessy Ferenc sculpting workshop led by the sculptor Gábor Szabó in Pestújhely, one of the northern suburbs of Budapest. And later graduated from the Secondary School of Fine and Applied Arts of Budapest, known as “Kisképző” in 1994. Her large statues of animals in glazed fireclay, brass, bronze, and steel mixed media embody specific spiritual, ideological and moral meaning.

“The framework of my life is made through my sculpting, and it is able to hold me on the ground as much as it is able to take me away from reality both in years with difficulties and trials and the happy and successful periods of time,” said Nagy of her work. As far as her subject matter is concerned, “I didn’t choose animals, they were the ones who found me and refuse to let me go for now,” explained the artist.

Ágnes Nagy’s work was recently exhibited at Art Palm Beach from January 31 – February 03, 2020 with Erdész Gallery & Design. “The expressiveness of Nagy’s artistic credo is embodied in bronze, glazed fireclay, stainless steel, and realistic animal portrayals. Every sculpture by Ágnes can be given a specific spiritual, ideological and moral meaning—that may be reformulated by the viewer in several ways,” said Adam Erdesz of Erdész Gallery.

We recently had the pleasure to chat with Ágnes to learn more about her work, art career and current projects:

Q – What is the best part about being an artist, and how did you get started on this path?

A – Ever since I was a child, I have had a strong inner motivation to create something. I made bracelets composed with parts of plants, painted plaster masks, bags and clothes with my grandmother’s Singer sewing machine, colorful baked play-doh sculptures and pins for the female members of my family and everything imaginable out of paper. I was a confident user of paintbrushes and different materials but the life-changing factor in my case proved to be the attracting of the appreciative attention of my art teacher (who was also a painter) in elementary school. She consciously helped me find my way to a career as an artist, just like she did with a few other talented kids. I was born in Budapest during the socialist era. While growing up, we didn’t perceive that our opportunities were limited. I came from an intellectual family, and my parents provided me with everything I possibly needed. We visited exhibitions, museums and went on trips. We engaged in long conversations, and the tons of books and culture in general played an essential role in our lives. Later, my father created an excellent art collection with a focus on 20^th century art schools and painters. He wanted me to become a painter. Despite his wish, I chose ceramics and leather goods as my specializations in the high schools I attended. It was only after I had left my original course and went astray for decades that I found my real purpose. It had always been a part of myself and existed as a kind of tension. It finally manifested itself in the form of a rhinoceros. I became a sculptor.

“Art is a way of life in which the artist’s professional and personal life are not separated. It’s not a consciously made choice, so every artist takes the responsibility to do what they love most and are the best at, and through it all they can produce something for people to enjoy. Anyone who has ever visited an exhibition or has artwork in their home will know the power of art. It can impress people, fill them up with positive vibes, can contribute to the growth of their personality and sense of style, and their becoming something more. By creating art, I can connect to people on an entirely different level, I can reach emotional strings vibrating deep inside, which is only possible through art.”

Q – Your sculptures are magnificent, where does your inspiration come from?

A – I have a habit to murmur to myself, “they are not animals!” However, they are obviously animal figures. They manifest feelings and thoughts through their character and sacral symbolism. Coincidence or not, this phase of my life has already lasted longer than I expected, and has become more and more dominant. I am insistent on my own visual expression that originates from my innermost recesses, so that my sculptures are easily recognizable. My artwork is a religious confession and my belief supplies a stable basis for everything I do. At the fall of socialism, when the borders were opening up and we received our world passport, it was Italy that we visited first. I found the Greco-Roman culture, art and architecture somehow familiar and they made a deep impression on me. We can find the touch of the initial antique imagery in contemporary art because it is so abstract and unreachable. The hardest challenge today is to be honest, to gain inspiration from our inner self that has ancient roots and to be independent of visual distractions that are all around nowadays. I mostly read French and Italian magazines, I am interested in design, furnishings and architecture. I travel a lot, I am open to the world, and I have retained my initial inclination to be zealous. I can genuinely express my free, rebellious and skeptical nature in my art. It is like a roaring lion representing social criticism. The unicorn lying on its back representing that our actions have a profound effect on our environment and our own fate. One way or another, what is currently happening to our planet is dislodging each of us from our feeling of comfort, and it makes us realize that nothing is like what it used to be. In an effort to reflect on today’s world that has lost a lot of its values and is struggling with a value crisis, I covered the sculpture with old engravings.

Q – You have a very interesting style of work, visually stimulating and meaningful with great symbolism, can you tell us about your creative process?

A – I am deeply interested in the mystery of the hidden and multilayered meaning of things. It happened to me that it was only after I had finished my animal figures that I started to research their symbolism in different ages, religions and cultures. I realized that this language is unconsciously encoded in all of us. We can convey different messages with animal symbols, just like we can express our world view, religion and ideas with them. My artworks were included in the Balassi Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism. There had only been an online version of the collection of symbols available — which I also used — before the publication of the Encyclopedia, so it was a gap-filling work. By means of the encyclopedia, my sculptures connect to science. I am interested in zoological morphology, physiognomy and characterization. Our nature is expressed on our face and posture in the same way as we associate different characteristics with animals based on their zoomorphic features. This is of course also true the other way around. There are the masculine powers and will of mine in my sculptures that I cannot express in any other way. I can also use these powers in sports. Doing sports ensures the good physical fitness that I need in order to be able to create my sculptures. I erected my large sculptures using chamotte clay so that they are stable by themselves. I don’t use any kind of reinforcement but I aim to create a good static concept. I thought if I was able to create huge clay vessels by means of this method, then I could create sculptures, too. It worked. Because it is a sophisticated method, only 6 out of 10 sculptures could survive my quest to push the boundaries further. My method is unique not just in Hungary — I don’t know of anyone else in the whole world who works with the same technique. This is the key to the imagery that is so typical of my artworks.

Q – Is there a sculptor (past or present) who you admire most, or who may have influenced your style?

A – Of course, I am enthusiastic about the work of several artists, different art trends from the history of art and contemporary art but what I admire the most is the artwork of those born geniuses who are pioneers in their field. Regarding myself, I like to be as independent as possible from the artwork of other artists. I am not interested to base my work on any existing trend or style. However, to create a paraphrase of an iconic artwork is different. Sometimes I am being compared to other artists because even if we are treading different paths with our methods, we can arrive at similar solutions. I believe that we would be a little naive not to be overwhelmed by the genius and artworks of other artists. To be unique is my likely superpower because I have walked my own path to develop my distinctive imagery. I didn’t have masters who could have left their fingerprint on my own style. I have a lot to thank Róbert Csíkszentmihályi for showing me empathy, who is a sculptor, the younger brother of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who is a professor, creator of the theory of flow, and who lives in the USA. I discovered his artwork when I randomly found his life-work exhibition a decade ago in Szentendre. I was overwhelmed by those impressions. After I could luckily get his phone number, I could visit him, and I had the opportunity to show him my first finished collection, which nobody had seen before. Meetings like this can be a life-changing experience. He had never told me that my techniques are unusual and unconventional in arts but encouraged me to continue in my own way.

Q – How do you navigate the art world, are there any trends you follow?

A – The application of stainless steel that I used for the bull and spiny lobster was a pure innovation regarding the wide range of shapes, which was a huge methodological challenge, too. I am proud to say that this methodological process takes place in an expert foundry that is unique in the world. It is a very sophisticated casting technique. The aesthetic appearance of my sculptures has essential importance. The main emphasis is on the ratios and quality because they mostly determine the visual appearance. Decadence is a typical characteristic feature of my artworks.

“I keep my eyes open for the newest trends in arts, architecture, design, furnishing and fashion. However, I don’t consider myself a trend follower, even if I can gain inspiration from almost everywhere.  This attitude of mine is manifested in my sculptures. I feel lucky to have a background that makes me free to be innovative and pioneering. Visual arts are about designing objects and figurative and non-figurative shapes, and I am fundamentally interested in creating artworks that can be displayed in indoor spaces, a piece of art that people can live with. This is a tiny market in Hungary, collectors and artists know each other by name. The segment of the customers who purchase contemporary sculptures is even smaller. It is necessary to extend this market to international customers.”

Q – Can you tell us about your recent exhibition with Erdész Gallery & Design at Art Palm Beach 2020?

A – The Erdész Galéria & Design have already attended several fairs in the USA. These were only initial steps to build up a collaboration. We plan to participate in further fairs. The audience was really kind and interested at Art Palm Beach, so I was filled up with good vibes during our stay there. However, there were a little bit fewer people there than we had previously expected. Despite that, I enjoyed every moment of the fair and the journey.

To learn more about this fascinating artist, for sales, commissions, general inquires or future show information, email art@agnesnagy.com and visit  https://www.agnesnagy.com/