Krisztina Pisák’s miniatures

I am simply in love with Krisztina Pisák’s miniatures. These are achingly sensitive, beautifully made little paintings, with as much emotion packed into a few square centimetres as some people cannot fit into an entire exhibition. Krisztina lives and works in Debrecen, is a book conservator, and often paints on materials that would already count as waste in bookbinding. Scraps of paper, offcuts and leftovers become the supports for her gouache paintings. I particularly love this about her: while she spends her days preserving old books, she uses things for her own pictures that other people would throw away. Oh, and she has a whippet. I feel it is important to mention that too, although I cannot yet substantiate its significance for art history.

Krisztina Pisák’s graphic language draws on the finest Hungarian traditions of graphic art. Her line, her compositions, her economy with areas of tone and her draughtsmanship are exceptional. There is no unnecessary gesture, no waffle. And the best part is that none of it ever becomes mannered. Her female figures, people leaning towards one another or turning away, and her strange little scenes are at once familiar and impossible to decipher. I love that I cannot say exactly what has happened in a picture, yet I immediately feel connected to it. Sometimes I see an entire family saga in a painting small enough to hold between two fingers.

Perhaps this is one of the best things about Krisztina’s work: its size makes you come right up close. You cannot tick these paintings off in passing from three metres away. You have to look, properly. Then come the details, the subtle humour, the sadness, the human relationships and all the things each of us brings from our own life. From the Women in Motion series to her more recent work, Krisztina Pisák’s miniature paintings are among my favourites in Start Galéria Budapest’s selection. If you love contemporary Hungarian graphic art, unusual works on paper, small original paintings, or simply want to look at something really good, I wholeheartedly recommend them. And please, I beg you, do not judge them by the centimetres.