Balint Zsako


Usually I start a painting by copying the pose of a figure from a photograph or an old-master painting. The next step is attempting to work out what direction the narrative is going to take. Do I add a minimalist construction of microphones and lightbulbs, a flock of birds, or a vascular system that turns into the roots of a flowering plant? Most of the stories center around themes of bodily functions, human interactions, sex, and death but are held tightly in place by strict considerations of geometric balance and color relationships.

What I want to do is filter the disparate elements of contemporary art through the language of figurative painting. I think of my works as performance art recorded using Indian miniatures, land art described by medieval illumination, conceptual art acted out by the figures on a Greek vase, or installation art transcribed into Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Jason's photograph shows me at the desk where I sit for ten hours a day, drinking coffee in the morning and beer at night, mostly looking at my paintings but sometimes out the window.