Agnes TOTH - PDF Catalogue - 2017

Agnes Toth’s paintings are refined, weightless juxtapositions,
an assemblage of elegantly composed fragments, layers and details;
all emerging from the artist’s aspiration for aesthetics.
The distinctness of Agnes Toth’s paintings is the fine quality and
the unique compositional method where she reveals highly detailed
fragments appearing from the plain surface of the canvas.
She uses emptiness and incompleteness as an integral part of the
composition. Her attention to detail and the organically shaping forms
directed her interest towards the idea of ‘slow’.
Agnes Toth
PAINTINGS
Her paintings create an atmosphere of timelessness and tranquillity,
her aim is to slow down the viewer, and direct their attention towards an
inner silence without traces of association to anything profane.
“A man is nothing else, but what he makes of himself..”
Jean-Paul Sartre

PARIS
The painting entitled ‘Paris’ was inspired by the interior of the
Rodin Museum; its chandeliers, faded mirrors and the dim light
filtering through the space.
The kingfisher is symbolically the city itself, I had a desire to use
a bird to represent Paris, and when I created the composition I
wanted it to be almost translucent and unrecognizable.
The purpose wasn’t the narrative, but to direct the focus on the
light that came from the light bulb of the chandelier, and the fine
motifs of the porcelain plates.
The idea behind the work was to create a composition from fragments
of visual elements, to the point where the work becomes
almost abstract. The emphasis is on the fineness of the overlaying
fragments. The original idea was to create an almost porcelain like
composition, where we may even hear the clinking crystals.
PARIS | oil on canvas | 150cm x 120cm | incomplete | 2016

GOOD NATURE
From the very early years I began painting, I had an interest in
Japanese culture, and the Seasonal Paintings of Pieter Bruegel
the Elder.
This composition emerged from the idea of using images to
create new compositions from the works of Old Masters.
The experience was liberating, it pointed me towards a new direction
of possibilities. It enabled me to use any resources freely,
and the process of working from various images of various ages
and cultures has showed me how diverse juxtapositions can be.
The three artworks I used for the composition are:
Pieter Bruegel - Hunters in the Snow /background/
Utamaro Kitagawa - Japanese Ink Drawing /foreground/
Antoine Joseph Dézallier d’Argenville (1680–1765 Paris, France)
“La Théorie et la pratique du jardinage” /lowerground/
Collection - The Metropolitan Museum, New York
GOOD NATURE | oil on canvas | 125cm x 80cm | in progress | 2016

THE IDEOLOGY OF INNOCENCE
This work is my first full figure painting. Painting nudes was at the
forefront of my idea when begining the composition.
The entire painting was created intuitively, I have met the model
who I have depicted at a time while I was a student in the UK.
For some weeks I was searching for a specific type of character,
who I have hoped to paint.
And than one day I spoted Michaela at an event in Penryn.
I approached her, and she agreed to come to my studio to begin
with some sitting.
I adored the melancholy in her character, and with this type of
personality all the other elements I used have naturally appeared
whilst preparing for the painting.
The translucent black veil, covering her legs, the almost unnatural
pose, where she pulls her legs towards her body, twisting the legs,
the leafless trees in an upside-down landscape.
THE IDEOLOGY OF INNOCENCE | oil on canvas | 130cm x 100cm | 2015

L’AIR
The painting is an hommage to Ian Hamilton Finlay, Scottish
sculptor, who has created a sculpture garden called ‘Little Sparta’.
Both paintings L’Air and L’Eau depicts a sculpture of Aphrodite,
the Greek goddess of Love, Beauty and Pleasure.
I wanted the painting to resemble to a poem, the idea was to
make it very simple and almost monochromic, like a marble
sculpture.
The text and the windflower are both symbolic, suggesting the
absence of something, or the possibility of something not
happening. And it leaves us in the desire and despair for something
that may not happen. The painting is in this melancholic
await for something afar.
L’Air blows the possibility away, as the incomplete text describes..
“... and _____ that _____ might never be ...”
L’AIR | oil on canvas | 115cm x 115cm | 2014

L’EAU
The other pair of the painting entitled L’Air.
Aprhrodite here is in a crouching position, the sculpture is broken,
and fractured; a torso.
In Hesiod’s Theogony, Aphrodite was created from the sea, he
derives Aphrodite from aphrós (ἀφρός) “sea-foam”, interpreting
the name as “risen from the foam”.
Before I began any research into mithology, I looked at the
shapes, and the curves of Aphrodite on this sculpture and two
subject that I was occupied with at the time has resulted in a
simple assembling.
At the same time during the Finlay paintings I was working on an
other project with fishermen, I did some sailing on tall ships, and
also joined an oysterman out in the sea dregging for oysters in
the sea-bed at the Carrick Roads.
The two subjects have come together almost instantly.
L’EAU | oil on canvas | 115cm x 115cm | 2014

OBLIVION, THE AFFINITY FOR SIMPLICITY
The painting entitled "Oblivion, The Affinity for Simplicity" is my
first circular work. It began in 2010, about a month before I
completed the MA Fine Art course in Falmouth, Cornwall.
I met Percy, the model of this painting on one of the days of early
Spring in 2010. For a long time I was looking for a character like
his, and when I saw him first it was a moment of finding something
special, especially because he reminded me of a character
from my childhood drawings.
At the time he was a student at University College Falmouth, and
when introducing himself, he emphasised he is a poet, which
later became significant in terms of the composition of the
painting. Without declaring I have connected him to one of my
favourite English poem from Percy Bysshe Shelley;
One word is too often profaned
For me to profane it,
One feeling too falsely disdain'd
For thee to disdain it.
One hope is too like despair
For prudence to smother,
And pity from thee more dear
Than that from another.
I can give not what men call love;
But wilt thou accept not
The worship the heart lifts above
And the Heavens reject not:
The desire of the moth for the star,
Of the night for the morrow,
The devotion to something afar
From the sphere of our sorrow?
OBLIVION, the Affinity for Simplicity
| oil on canvas | 110cm x 110cm | 2013

IF I DO NOT HAVE LOVE, I AM NOTHING
“If I do not have Love, I am Nothing” is a semi-ars poetica and an
experiment which originates from the first complete-incomplete
paintings I did in 2009.
The painting encapsulates my aims in my practice similarly to
a previous work I have completed in 2006, entitled “This is My
Blood”. It was an attempt to capture the essence of my intentions
and progress in painting. This is why I chose the title; a reflection
on what is probably the most significant in human existence in
my own personal view.
IF I DO NOT HAVE LOVE, I AM NOTHING
| oil on canvas | 90cm x 110cm | 2013

EMPATHY
The second painting that I have left fragmented. The idea of incompleteness
emerged from the process and the methodology
of the way I paint a painting.
The whole piece would grow out of little islands of fragments,
and this would slowly grow into bigger areas in the painting.
The painting of Katie was part of my research project in Cornwall,
the United Kingdom. My subject ‘Entering Private & Personal’
was an investigation into how people lived in my surrounding
area, and what kind of connection they had to their belongings.
The possibility of leaving a painting incomplete has resulted in
so many possibilities that directed me towards a completely new
approach into composition.
EMPATHY | oil on canvas | 110cm x 85cm | 2010

REMEDY
The painting entitled ‘Remedy’ was part of a project that related
to my MA Fine Art degree research about private spaces. I was
interested in the idea of working in a public space, and chose a
painting to use as a reference in a gallery space.
The painting ‘Ophelia’ from John Everett Millais in Tate Britain
was probably one of my most admired work from the history in
British Art. I received the permission from Tate to work infront of
the original painting, and I spent four months in the gallery, and
it was such a priviledge to be able to spend that long time, and
really understand a piece of work.
Painting Ophelia meant, that she also became mine. Through the
process I became part of a piece of history.
REMEDY | oil on canvas | 70cm x 95cm | 2010

THE UNSPEAKABLE
The left side of the painting has been painted infront of the public
audience in the National Gallery in London, at Trafalgar Square.
Room 8 has always been my favourite in the gallery, it has that
translucent Bronzino and the two Michelangelo paintings.
Painting Michelangelo’s ‘Manchester Madonna’ was unspeakable.
The experience cannot be described. It took me three months on
Thursdays and Fridays, and later after visiting the gallery, I added
the portrait of a friend, who is a goldsmith and has been a great
inspiration to me.
In the background I depicted a Ladureé Macaroon, that cracked
and was covered with edible gold leaf.
THE UNSPEAKABLE | oil on canvas | 70cm x 95cm | 2010

ENTERING PRIVATE & PERSONAL
The painting was a milestone, the begining of several new things.
That was the time when I began a new life in a new country, and
around me everything has changed in 3 days.
The Masters Degree course was really motivating, the professors
were mainly trying to challenge us, and the new surrounding
with the new tasks was mind opening and liberating.
This painting was the first piece where I took the courage to leave
in fragments; and it was my first painting I painted in Cornwall.
The two years there have really showed me a passion for the
countryside and a love for all things.
ENTERING PRIVATE & PERSONAL
| oil on canvas | 110cm x 85cm | 2010

DRUMMOND MONEY-COUTTS - The Magician
The painting can be considered as a site-specific piece.
After several years of submitting work to the BP Portrait Award
at the National Portrait Gallery, in 2013 I decided to send in a
very specific painting.
The idea was to assemble a very clear and direct portrait, and
after meeting Drummond, I decided to triple the figure.
The composition became crisp, and sharp. After several months
of really intesive work, with a tight deadline I sent in my piece to
the competition and was selected amongst the exhibitors.
The painting encapsulated everything that needed to be there at
Trafalgar Square, it was classical and modern at the same time,
and it was exactly the way I wanted it to be.
It was amazing to see how one can achieve something, just by
really setting a clear focus.
DRUMMOND MONEY-COUTTS - The Magician
|oil on canvas | 78cm x 116cm | 2013

TEA AT BUCKINGHAM
A double self portrait, that is placed in front of the background of
the Victoria Memorial infront of Buckingham Palace.
My intention was to paint myself the way I would like to be seen
and understood. To be a woman with strenght and sensitivity at
the same time. To be independent, but also fragile.
To preserve the duality of a woman.
I also had a desire to depict things that are beautiful, to use lace,
and silk, and gold and porcelain. Materials that have always
excited me, and I adored their elegance.
Tea at Buckingham is really about growing up, and becoming a
woman who wants to be accepted.
TEA AT BUCKINGHAM | oil on canvas | 74cm x 160cm | 2007

THE FIVE SENSES
The painting is a summary of the five years spent at the Academy
of Fine Arts in Budapest and my final year graduation piece.
My idea was to find the essence of what it was like to discover
painting and how I experienced the first five years of the
profession. From the begining of the early naive steps, to the more
aware and conscious artist, who already began to see
beyond things.
The painting is a self portrait where I emerge from the blank white
canvas. The left side is darker, and represents the instinctual
understanding of the world. And with the sense of Taste, Smell,
Touch, Sight and Hearing the process of awakening happens.
THE FIVE SENSES | oil on canvas | 100cm x 313cm | 2005