András Őrsi/ Böki/DJ ONE-AB. By whatever name it is known, its name is synonymous with quality work. As a child, Böki was introduced to graffiti, music, and break dancing. His love and dedication to graffiti was evident not only in his free time, but also in his studies, as he also devoted his thesis to this topic.
It opened its doors to interested parties on March 4, 2022 Böki, i.e. András Őrsi's first solo exhibition in Budapest Unmute Galleryin , which is characterized by the title Rollin on Chrome. The atmosphere of the opening it made it especially family-like that it was not only the not only art lovers, but also Böki's colleagues and musicians took part. It was precisely because of this that it was a special experience to participate in this occasion, because you could feel the respect and love that people have towards the artist. By the way, the evening was hosted by Tink, with whom Böki has been working together for a long time, approaching another branch of the arts, and they create something lasting to our great pleasure.
Photos: Diána Jenes
The exhibition was made a special experience not only by the mood and atmosphere surrounding it, but also by the exhibited works themselves. Looking at the pictures, it cannot be said that they leave one cold, or that they do not touch or evoke some kind of feeling or effect from the viewer. According to the artist, it is not his aim to impose specific meaning on the visitor, rather, he lets the viewer interpret and endow the images with underlying content. In addition, there are works that do not necessarily have to be associated with something deeper, it is enough to "just" look at the dynamics, the world of forms, and the use of materials. Walking through the gallery and observing the viewers, this duality was revealed, among some it sparked a heated discourse about who sees what in the given work, how they interpret it, what colors affect them the most, and there were places where the viewer stood alone with the picture in front of him and immersed in it, he wondered for a long time about what he saw.
In addition to the atmosphere, it is definitely important to talk about the pictures themselves, which were taken this year. Böki's individual style has been characterized by letters since childhood. The images are mainly defined by chrome colors, but bronze and gold also appear. According to the artist, chrome is closer to him than, for example, white because it creates different effects and behaves differently from different angles and under different light conditions, so it can offer a different view. This color combination is called "bombing" in graffiti circles, and he wanted to smuggle it into the canvas painting with detailed elaboration, thus bringing together the illegality of graffiti in an exhibition environment with the artistic execution.
When asked if there was an image that was particularly close to Böki's heart, he answered that this could be said for several images, however, what was especially important to him was that he tried to use a new type of technique for each image, which constantly pushes his own boundaries, respectively made him deviate from the path he had trodden until then.
In one word, the exhibition was an exceptional experience, both visually and emotionally.
What inspires you to use black, white and colder colors, what does it mean to you?
I mainly use black and chrome colors, but gold and bronze were also included in the new exhibition material. Chrome is more interesting to me than white because it is reflective, so it behaves differently in different light conditions, it looks different from every angle, it can pick up the colors of the environment and the lighting. This color combination in the graffiti language 'bombing’is often used for large-scale and simple street drawings, due to the good covering power, tenacity and contrast of the colors. I wanted to include these more unpretentious brutal shades in the canvas painting with detailed elaboration, so the material use of illegal graffiti meets the artistic execution and the erosion of outdoor paintings echoes on the canvases.
Is there a painting close to your heart and why?
There are more, I experimented a lot with technical solutions in this reduced color scheme and tried to use as many types of tools as possible. The basis of each picture started from trying out a new kind of technique. I really like those paintings where I was able to move as far as possible from the previously trodden path and managed to surprise myself.
Why the letters? Does it come from a love of graffiti and an attachment to it?
Every painter has to find the form into which he can pour the content, someone makes portraits, for me the letters are my figures, I have been polishing them since I was a child, I have been dressing them with gestures from which associable content can be born.
Would you like your images to have a clear message, or do you prefer that the viewer can give meaning to the images?
I can tell you what I see in each one, but I think these are the type of pictures where it is better to leave the associations to the viewer. I also like that I can immerse myself in a painting without being told what to see in it and that one's imagination gets more space.
Not every image necessarily has deeper content, somewhere only the dynamics, the meeting of forms and colors create an atmosphere that is exciting to immerse yourself in. I don't think it's worth expecting every work of visual art to have a clear and exact message. I also like aesthetic paintings that affect the senses, when the receiver does not receive a clear message, but it affects him regardless, just as music often has an effect on a person's mood that is often difficult to describe in words.