Landscapes of the Mind: Fiction & Reality
“Landscapes of the Mind: Fiction & Reality” is an exhibition that delves into the issue of nature and environment through the works of two artists, Tamara Haddad and Szilard Huszank. Despite having different approaches and techniques, their works complement each other and share similar intentions, making for a cohesive and engaging display.
Huszank’s technique involves layering elements of nature such as branches, trees, leaves, and mountains to create his “Landscape Collages” or “Imaginary Landscapes.” His use of vivid and anti-naturalistic colors renders the landscapes unfamiliar, making it difficult for the viewer to quickly grasp the complete image. The resulting pictorial landscapes have a fictional quality, akin to enchanted gardens. Pristine and untouched, they seem to exist far from our urban world and away from human life. Huszank’s approach offers a respite from the everyday world, providing an escape to a utopic natural world.
In contrast, Haddad’s work focuses on the immensity of the Earth and its infinite textures, resources, and colors. Her rocky landscapes are created with oil paints and are inspired by some of the world’s most impressive forests in Nepal, Tibet, and Lebanon. However, her works do not shy away from important issues such as deforestation, global warming, wildfires, and pollution. Through her art, Haddad sensitizes viewers to the Earth’s fragility and invites them to appreciate its undeniable beauty.
Huszank’s landscapes are imaginative and utopic, Haddad’s paintings offer a more accurate representation of our environment. Despite these differences, the exhibition brings together two bodies of work that share a common thread: nature and the urgent need to protect and appreciate it. It offers an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with the environment and how we can work towards a sustainable future.
About the Artists
Szilard Huszank
Szilard Huszank is a Hungarian-born artist who currently lives and works in Germany. He studied at several institutions and his artwork, which blends figuration and abstraction, features vibrant colors and fluid movements. His work has been exhibited globally and has been the subject of five books published by Kerber. He has received several awards, including the Phonix Art Prize and the Art Prize of the Nuremberg News.
Tamara Haddad
Tamara Haddad was born in Beirut in 1982 and received a master’s degree in Advertising from Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) in 2005. Although she started painting in 2004 as a self-taught artist while working in advertising, she left the industry in 2011 to pursue painting full-time. Her work is influenced by her background in architecture and photography and her travels to places like Tibet, Nepal, and the Lebanese mountains. She focuses on the physical transformations of the Earth caused by human actions and aims to highlight the beauty and texture of landscapes while also revealing the scars left behind. She uses natural materials like sand, bark, and branches along with oil paints in her creative process due to her deep concern for the environment.
Landscapes of the Mind: Fiction & Reality
Location: Galerie Tanit, Mar Mikhael
Duration: May 3 – June 14, 2023