VERTIGO C – Site-specific artwork for the lobby of the Corvin Palace/ 2023
Curated by Zita Sarvari
Photos by Andris Zombori
Rhythm—the regularly recurring, periodically repeating alternation—is a defining element of István Dukai’s visual composition. Vertigo, that is, dizziness, the sensation of motion or spinning.
The artwork titled Vertigo C, created specifically for the forecourt of the Corvin Palace building with its beautiful classicizing style, pulses with energy like musical crescendos that quicken the heartbeat and stir the soul. Construction of the Corvin Department Store began in 1915. The building, embodying all the elegance of progressive Parisian and London department stores and ahead of its time, was adorned from the outset with works by significant visual artists. The newly restored Corvin Palace, now shining again in its former glory, pays tribute to the building’s modern philosophy by installing this artwork, thereby continuing this tradition.
István Dukai’s work employs digitally prepared, precise stencil motifs and a monochrome color palette to direct attention to texture, material elements, and form. Materials play a decisive role in the artwork. Dukai most often favors raw, unadorned materials in his creative process, thereby emphasizing the traditional ideal of craftsmanship and art. His works are largely handwoven and often made from reused, decades-old sackcloth, which he dyes with natural tanning agents. In his works, there is a compelling tension between the natural and the artificial, the analog and the digital, the traditional and the technocratic.
