06 Dec 2009

Fajo Janos at Komart Gallery, Bratislava

My creative method

I haven’t been painting objects since 1965. Composition of my paintings consists of geometrically even shapes variations. Shapes contain real thoughts and variations, which i have learnt from Kassak Lajos, my master. Mostly paintings of free shapes originate in this way, however, they cannot be framed, but fit to wall perfectly.

My thoughts are materialized by means of a pencil, then i cut out shapes from a coloured paper, or a foil, later on, I move them, rotate, place and vary. This composition method is facilitated by scissors. Even shapes are cut out by scissors, whereas dimensional ones, by a belt saw. (Scissors have been introduced within painting by Henri Matisse, which was a great contribution, as specific even shapes had become his natural technique. Formless splotches can be made with a brush, but not with scissors). It is unbelievable, but in my opinion, scissors are the most simple and fastest computer. Individual and freely variable colour shapes can originate from a formless paper in such a way. This is followed by a brush a painting itself, but at first, I paint a paper or a wooden 3D model with tempera paints and when it has adequate dimensions, the work of art is finished by painting a canvas or a board with oil paints.

Variation of shapes is my most fundamental creative method. I try to stay close to entire shapes, such as ring, quadrangle and triangle. My most favourite shape is a ring or an ellipsis, as these shapes are soft, stroke-able and lubricious, reminiscent of a woman’s body. Various sounds, hard and monochromatic, can be created by means of these shapes. Elements of my shapes, as well as my compositions, have a strict anatomy and structure. I do use contradictions, such as: Cold –warm, Big-small, Positive-negative, Hard-soft.

I used to say for fun, so that everybody understands, what’s going on: one is smooth and one inverted. The essence of painting is colour and the essence of sculpture is shape. Number of my colours, of which the painting is being prepared, is determined by shapes. The painting does not consist of more or less colours, because if there is one colour extra, such painting fades out. What is to be done with two colours, cannot be done with three, and what is to be dealt by two people, does not have to be dealt by three, as the third person is redundant. This principle roots from my social philosophy. Colour situations, created by shapes, transform paints into colours, from what my paintings obtain motion and excitation.

3D paintings represent a slight refinement besides sharp contours, while the implementation of the third dimension has caused that the colours reflect from one plane onto another, by which the work of art is being refined. That’s why it has a slight touch of reflex-art and kineticism. It satisfies several points of view, which are being changed due to the motion of the space-time. I am a natural-born puritan and a rational minimalist. My goal is, as well as the goal of every artist, to simplify the world with all its things, to make it more transparent, understandable and transformable, definitely not more complicated.

I think that the magnificent is always simple.

October 2009, Fajó János