Zsolt Berszan's Remains of the Remains, review by Tiberiu Galan, 2nd year, ITA

Is featuring death in art still relevant and interesting in contemporary times? Or is it merely a theme exhaustively exploited and stripped of any significant meaning? Apparently, no matter how much diversity there is out there, even after so many decades of exponential growth within the Art world, Zsolt Berszan, a Hungarian artist and former graduate at the University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca, plans to demonstrate through his personal exhibition entitled Remains of the Remains, that the range of possibilities is ever-expanding and it unveils new forms of meaning. The event is hosted by Bazis Contemporary at Centrul de Interes in Cluj Napoca between April 20th and 24th of May, 2021. 

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything clearly intelligible when looking at the paintings. In fact, even the experienced eyes of the artistic community would have difficulty in vaguely identifying what is depicted. The title of the exhibition hints that we ought to look for certain Remains of remains, yet the viewer might be appalled since he’s not able to pinpoint anything figurative, a certain narrative, or cohesion between the works. Anything besides the exhibiting space itself doesn’t seem to make sense upon first impression. But the artworks are placed in such a way as to take him through an extremely brief course of initiation. 

The subject matter in itself strongly reminds of the morbid appearance and texture of Theodore Gericault’s pictorial studies, the eminent French painter, who, in a very similar manner, depicted the remains of dead bodies up close, mainly for his own artistic interest. The aspect that strikes the viewer immediately is the use of intense black graphite on the surface of the canvas, reminiscent of the swift and impetuous gestures of the American abstract-expressionists. 

An existing paradoxical relationship between the works, the fact that they are untitled, and the name of the exhibition itself catch the interest of the connoisseur. The fact that they are untitled predisposes the art enthusiast to approach them as if they are abstracts, which they are in part if we were to not take into account what they actually depict, according to the artist’s considerations. Another notable paradox comes into the viewer’s grasp. The depicted elements evidently illustrate the pieces of a lifeless body, but the texture and appearance of the palpable surface create suggest a strong sense of dynamism. Indeed, it is as if a process comes to an end, whilst another one is emerging. In this respect, the artworks of Zsolt Berszan are imbued with deep significance, linking to important aspects of nature and life as a whole -  the dusk and dawn, the transience and the finitude of things, and the permanence of change. 

The paper is treated as a battlefield in which the graphite darkens the paper almost in its entirety, alluding to the idea of earth, dirt, and the decadence of life that goes along with the process of putrefaction. Whether judging from the distance or from up close, it seems as if the artist wanted to slice the support into bits and pieces. It’s precisely this vision the artist has in mind and wanted to convey in his work. The vision of remnants of a past experience, remnants of something that no longer is, either physically or spiritually among us, entitles Zsolt Berszan as being a true artist in the sense of transmitting something universal to his audience. 

Despite making things somewhat difficult for the viewer, in the sense that it is not clear how one might approach the artworks, they embody a set of essential truths which are unanimously acknowledged. After a short initiation, the viewer is introduced to a series of large drawings and small canvases, each of which requires to be inspected carefully before any meaning can be acquired or a reaction stimulated.

Placed right-left of the entrance in the exhibition, the first drawing strongly presents itself as being nonfigurative, since the lines are so frenetically juxtaposed and overlapped that one can’t quite identify whether something is being depicted or not. It appears to be just a mere manifestation of impulsive gestures by means of using a pencil. The technique and means of creating the drawings were certainly chosen with artistic intuition since the dark tones of the graphite and the textures it can create serve the artistic intention much better in this case than oil painting. The work is hard to comprehend and it certainly isn’t aesthetically pleasing.

The elephant in the room is a diptych depicting the male and female genitals. Quite literally, the dimensions are striking for a couple of drawings on paper, measuring 200x280 centimeters. Its resemblance with the other painting resides in its formal aspects and the technique used, yet it distinguishes itself through a somewhat accurate representation of the organs. Looked from the distance, the frenzy created by the network of lines fades away and seems to give more structure to the composition as a whole. 

Overall, the exhibited artworks aren’t many, but what they lack in number they make up for insignificance and the original artistic spirit behind them. The show is properly set up and the works are placed in such a way as to bring the viewer closer to an authentic experience one might have after knowing about the artist’s vision and endeavor materialized in them. Despite being somewhat intimidating at first glance, the ensemble of drawings and painted canvases convey a significant message which we ought to acknowledge every once in a while. Nevertheless, not everyone is fit or even capable of understanding Zsolt Berszan’s creation, and,  visually speaking, his works are not pleasant to look at, and they certainly don’t invite the viewer to passively contemplate for the sake of aesthetic pleasure.