POSTPLASTIC
September 6 - October 4, 2023
Artists: Milán Kövics, Marcell Menyhárt, Viktor Rónai

Opening: September 6, 2023 at 6:00 PM
The exhibition will be opened by Gábor Rieder, art historian
The exhibition is on view until October 4, 2023

Post-Plastic
A New Aesthetic Frontier

"The title 'Post-Plastic: A New Aesthetic Frontier' is a novel and attention-grabbing formulation aimed at inspiring the reader to explore new realms of art and aesthetics. The term 'post-plastic' refers to the transcendence of traditional materials and forms used in art, and at the same time, it alludes to environmental and societal considerations. The phrase 'New Aesthetic Frontier' implies that new artistic directions and expressions are pushing a boundary where technology, social changes, and human creativity intersect.

Through this title, I aim to express that in contemporary art, we are living in a period where conventional artistic paradigms are breaking down, making space for new and innovative forms of expression. 'Plastic' here doesn't just refer to artistic materials, but also to artistic styles and forms, which are reshaping and adapting to our changing world.

This title encourages us to immerse ourselves in the new artistic realm, where artists are redefining traditional and modern elements, and where art embarks on a new and exciting journey to tackle the challenges and opportunities brought about by the post-internet and Anthropocene era."
ChatGPT-3.5

The AI-generated term "post-plastic" doesn't exclusively refer to plastic as a material and phenomenon, although some artworks in the exhibition explicitly contain plastic. The term creates various interpretations in different contexts, thereby expanding its inclusiveness and flexibility. In English usage, "plastic" holds multiple meanings. One refers to the aforementioned plastic material, while the other pertains to "plastic arts," which is a concept that encompasses visual arts and also implies malleability.
Furthermore, among the possibilities of the title is the indication of a falsified state of being. Trends spreading through the renewed communication space in recent decades turn individuals' characteristics inside out, grinding down the psyche in a society where abundant information fills the user with uncertainty and despair. This dual, uncertain state of being manifests in the widespread prevalence of computer games. The easily accessible alternative, results outside of physical reality easily pull the user into a pseudo-beautiful reality where the false appearance of success becomes the defining factor. The same characterizes the image flood of social media platforms, their streamlined, false, parallel reality. The leakage of this parallel presence into the actual, physical space is what truly makes the term "post-plastic" relevant. It creates a dual reality where the ideals, filters, and trends of the virtual space also define the visuality of physical reality. This way, a renewed visual world and a falsified state of being become plastic.
We planned to create a trio exhibition together precisely because none of us thinks within the two-dimensional realm of an image. The extension created in the real, physical space and the object-like perception of images were what connected our artworks. Additionally, similar issues, societal questions, and methods/solutions of image creation engaged us.

Viktor, Milán, Dániel

Photo: Dávid Biró