André Kertész Hall

PRESENT CONTINUOUS V-VI-VII
Codes of Reality / Observations / Relations

One major task of the Hungarian House of Photography - Mai Manó House is to present young contemporary artists of Hungarian photography. Therefore, we launched our art project Present Continuous seven years ago. Each year we present 4 artists through exhibitions organized in our halls or at other locations. We also publish a catalog that provides an opportunity to showcase Hungarian photography nationally, as well as internationally.

We are proud of our Present Continuous artistic project and time has proven that we have “a good eye” for selection. The 28 photographers featured in 7 volumes are unequivocally at the forefront of contemporary Hungarian photography. They have won numerous national and international awards in recent years, and are represented by renowned art galleries; their names are becoming more and more familiar with international art and photography fairs. And, perhaps most importantly, these are the artists whose works are purchased by national and international museums and private collectors.

In 2013 - for the second time – we organize a summary exhibition for the artists of Present Continuous on the first floor of Mai Manó House. The selection of Gabriella Csizek, the project’s curator features photographers from volumes five, six, and seven:
Béla Dóka · Krisztina Erdei · Zsolt Fekete · Gábor Arion Kudász;
Róbert László Bácsi · Sári Ember · Viola Fátyol · Ildi Hermann;
Zsuzsa Darab · Lili Zoé Érmezei · Gáspár Riskó · Márk Simon.

These artists all use the photographic language consciously and courageously; they are young photographers with excellent technical skills, either following classic traditions or showcasing the latest trends.

Present Continuous exhibition and catalog series

Started in 2005, selected young artists of the continuously expanding series represent all genres of photography and reflect on general questions of the present with their unique styles.
Series created parallel to each other began to engage in a dialog with one another through these exhibitions and catalogs.
This overview now presents work that spans through many years, hosting the series of 12 young artists and creating the opportunity for introduction of national contemporary trends and currently evolving photographic careers. For some, this exhibition is the first opportunity to showcase their works.
For a more thorough and complete introduction to young Hungarian photography, photo series from the first four volumes are projected.
Guided tours with the artists and the curator, and invited professionals are to be provided during the exhibition.
The volumes of the catalog series are available for purchase at the Mai Manó Gallery and Bookstore.

The exhibition

Volume 5

The fifth series was organized into a volume titled Codes of Reality. The grouping of works by the four artists Béla Dóka· Krisztina Erdei· Zsolt Fekete· Gábor Arion Kudász may seem unusual at first. However, if we immerse ourselves in the worlds enclosed in these images, we discover the connections amongst them through their simplicity and ability to condense meanings. We see personal documents about the reality they experience as filtered through the triad of their emotions, thoughts, and souls -- the joyful life of Béla Dóka and his loved ones in nature; Krisztina Erdei’s real world revealing the impossible; Zsolt Fekete’s perspicacious portraits and landscape photos from a neat world; Gábor Arion Kudász’s images of the eerie traces of human presence in the barely existing untouched nature.

Volume 6

The sixth edition of the series is titled Observations and showcases works from Róbert László Bácsi· Sári Ember· Viola Fátyol· Ildi Hermann. The selection introduces reality as observed and photographed through a variety of human and photographic attitudes. Not only do we get acquainted with the strange and closed world of the circus, or follow the group activities and experiences of a circle of friends, but we also come to learn about the relations between an artist’s family members through a system of real or heightened gestures. Finally, we are also witness to an artist’s pictorial reflection on herself, her situation, along with the acknowledgement of changes and their consequences within.

Volume 7

The seventh edition draws the works of Zsuzsa Darab · Lili Zoé Érmezei · Gáspár Riskó · Márk Simon together into one volume along the concept of Relations. This referential relation may refer to one between photographer and model, or be captured in correlation with human spaces or nature; also, it can showcase the blindness chosen against society’s intrinsic operations or the deficiency it produces that takes the form of one generation’s representatives.

Exhibited artists:

Present Continuous V. ”Codes of Reality” 
Dóka Béla · Erdei Krisztina · Fekete Zsolt · Kudász Gábor Arion
Present Continuous VI. ”Observation” 
Bácsi Róbert László ·  Ember Sári ·  Fátyol Viola ·  Hermann Ildi
Present Continuous VII. ”Relations”
Darab Zsuzsa ·   Érmezei Lili ·  Riskó Gáspár ·  Simon Márk

Projected volumes:

Present Continuous I. ”Anxious Looks”
Csoszó Gabriella · Elek Judit Katalin · Szabó Sarolta · Tóth Szilvi 
Present Continuous II. ”Silent moments”
Hangay Enikő· Kemenesi Zsuzsanna · Nagy Tamás · Puklus Péter
Present Continuous III. ”Living Together”
Hossala Tamás · Kovalovszky Dániel · Mónika Merva· Szász Lilla
Present Continuous IV. ”Visible Stories”
Barakonyi Szabolcs · Dezső Tamás· Fekete András· Molnár Zoltán