If we approach the downtown of Szentendre, János Aknay’s spatial sculpture emerges, its sharp peaks bursting into the sky, one of them flamboyantly indicating the separation from the earth. Then, in the MANK Gallery, we stand out from the ordinary, and the artist’s freer, more rigorously structured images give a real and virtual sense of elevation. Recently, in the Skanzen Gallery, we only saw his pictures entitled Emlék, but on the occasion of his 75th birthday, this exhibition – thanks to a private collection – presents a collection that is chronologically and technically more complex. We can look back with shocking art historical and sacred references, states of fate are displayed, but with definite clarity we also have a contemporary painting phenomenon in front of us, which uniquely proves that the strict structure and mostly tonal rich color management can create a floating poetic artistic performance. Csaba Varga, one of the owners of the collection, says that they are looking for works that “have soul”. It is no coincidence that one of the pillars of their collection is a series of pictures by János Aknay. The exhibition can be viewed until April 28.
