Robert Fekete
In his process, Robert Fekete considers it fundamental to work carefully from visual sources, drawing references from the past, without ever dwelling on an idea of painting that is in anyway retrograde or nostalgic.
It is curious for a young artist of the new millenium to remain inspired by a way of painting that has sometimes been described as dated or anti modern. Yet Fekete turns the concept of (Neo)Romanticism upside down: he takes the risk of exercising power and control over the landscape. Fekete is mystical but not weak: instead of being awed by nature, he exerts control over it through his craft, in a manner akin to supernatural governance. He often carries a scene from one painting to another by varying the size of each painting and changing the dynamics by cutting the image and blowing up details. As a starting point, Fekete usually does hand-made collages - something that enables him to experiment with the correct arrangement of forms on the canvas in a preliminary way.
His recent compositions are divided into two or more pieces. These sometimes reveal the geometric and pop art influences which have informed his practice, but he is also careful to always address the historical concept of figuration in his work.
Robert Fekete was born in 1987 in Satu Mare, Romania. He currently lives and works in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He studied at the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, where he obtained a Master’s degree. In 2007, he received a one-year scholarship at the Accademia Albertina di Belli Arti Torino, Italy and had a residency at the Romanian Academy in Rome, Italy between 2010-2012.
Robert Fekete’s works have been exhibited in international galleries, such as Feinkunst Kruger Hamburg, The Gallery of Fine Arts Ostrava, Tajan ArtStudio Paris, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York, M77 Gallery Milan, Dominique Fiat Gallery Paris, HVVCA – Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill, New York; Conduits Gallery Milan; Prague Biennale; Prisma Gallery Bolzano, Mihai Nicodim Gallery Los Angeles, Mie Lefever Gallery, Destelbergen, Belgium.
His works are part of important public collections such as Art Center Hugo Voeten, Herentals, Belgium and Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY, USA.
