ArtFactory I.
ABB Building, 1138 Budapest
Váci út 152-156.
ArtFactory II.
1055 Budapest Markó u. 4.
(near Falk Miksa corner)
ArtFactory Studio
ABB Factory, 1138 Budapest
Váci út 152-156.
ArtFactory Photo
ABB Factory, 1138 Budapest
Váci út 152-156.
   
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(0036-1) 302-51-72



Karl Bielik - London to Budapest
The impetus for Karl Bielik’s exhibition at the Art Factory Gallery in Budapest comes from his desire to explore his Hungarian roots.  He packed up his art materials and a few dozen half-made paintings and undertook a road trip from London to Budapest.  

This adventure also provided the opportunity to explore the effect of cultural “cross pollination” on his work.  Most of the canvases were begun in London and completed in Budapest, and the works show traces of both locations and cultures. 

Bielik takes as his starting point photographs of his local environment, focusing on overlooked details such as window grates, cracked pavement, shadows on the wall and traces of graffiti.  These details frequently reveal naturally recurring patterns, which can be seen in the works in this exhibition. 

Often working on up to 20 canvases at a time, Bielik’s usual process is to paint and scrape back many layers until the work reaches an intuitive feeling of conclusion and expression.  Starting from an urban, punk foundation, Bielik’s work has evolved into more calculated mark making and colour selection. 

A solo show by London-based painter Karl Bielik will open at Budapest’s Art Factory Gallery II on April 22.  The exhibition will run through May 16, 2009.

The impetus for the show comes from Bielik’s desire to explore his Hungarian roots.  Travelling by car from London to Hungary, Bielik has made works based on his road-trip experiences and impressions of Budapest.  Bielik says he finds inspiration for his work in his immediate surroundings, often focusing on the “disregarded, overlooked, and abandoned”.   His energetic abstracts reflect urban, punk foundations that have evolved into more calculated mark making and use of colour.

Karl Bielik was recently featured in NY Arts magazine.  He is director of Terrace, an artist studio complex in Hackney, and is also a member of the band Lark, which released its first album last fall.  More information about Lark can be found at www.myspace.com/lark2006.