Gabor Koos

Lives and works in Budapest, Hungary

Artist statement

My work is about preserving. I record and document personally relevant issues, objects, and places. This approach is in line with diary-writing, and it grew out organically from a travel, during my time as an artist-in-residence in Glasgow. Being away for the first time and being on my own, it became very important for me to document my experiences, which were in a way mirroring my independency. I wanted to find the simplest and most direct way of preserving. I also wanted my work to reflect my personal affection to the documented objects. From this motivation, two techniques emerged, which are both deeply rooted in the tradition of printmaking, but in a way that also completely negates this tradition. The first approach was direct printing by using frottage technique; I basically applied paint on my object, which then became the matrix, and by printing it on paper, I was able to save the traces of people around me, the grass in the park, or a piece of stone. I compiled these prints in an artist book, the Glasgow Diary. Since then, I’ve been using this technique almost in all of my work. The other approach that I first elaborated for my diploma work is based on woodcut technique. Large-scale woodcuts allow me to preserve and transmit the experience and monumentality of bigger objects and spaces. I arrange these artworks as one installation, where I place the print and the corresponding matrix in the same space. Showing both reflects my approach to printmaking. Although...

Artwork