El Kazovsky

El Kazovsky (July 13, 1948 – July 21, 2008^[1]) was a Russian-born Hungarian painter, performer, poet and costume designer^[2] who was one of the leading Hungarian painters of his time.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

El Kazovsky was born under the name of Elena Kazovskaya in Leningrad, Russia to Irina Putolova, an art historian, and Yefim Kazovsky, a physicist. He moved to Hungary in 1965, at the age of 15, and graduated in 1977 with a degree in painting from the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. El Kazovsky's masters were György Kádár and Ignác Kokas.

El Kazovsky was open about being a transgender man; he was born as a biological female and self-defining as an androphile man.^[3]

Art

His art cannot be broken down into periods; all of his expressive paintings reveal the same mythological world that he created. Several recurring figures appear in many of his paintings, such as the long nosed dog or the ballet dancer figure. Besides paintings, his work includes stage designs, performances and installations.

Awards

Exhibitions

Solo shows:

El Kazovsky: Encore—Várfok Gallery, Budapest, 2016
The State Russian Museum—Marble Palace, St. Petersburg, 2005

Group shows:

Mis-en Abyme (Kép a képben)—Várfok Gallery, Budapest, 2008
Hungarian Art. Danubiana—Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, 2007
Re:embrandt—Contemporary Hungarian Artists Respond. Museum of Fine Arts - Budapest, Budapest, 2006
Common Space—Ernst Museum Budapest, Budapest, 2006
In Black and White—Graphic Art exhibition. Műcsarnok / Kunsthalle Budapest, 2001
Millennial serie of exhibitions in the Mucsarnok—Mucsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, 2000

Public collections

Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), Budapest, Hungary
Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, Hungary
Institute of Contemporary Art, Dunaújváros, Hungary
Muzeum Sztuki w Lodz, Lodz, Poland^[4]

Books, monographies

Forgacs, Eva: El Kazovszkij (monograph, 1996)
Uhl, Gabriella: El Kazovszkij kegyetlen testszínháza (album, 2008)

References

^ "Elhunyt El Kazovszkij". HVG. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
^ "Against Interpretation. On the performance art of El Kazovsky and Tamás Király - artportal.hu". artportal.hu (in Hungarian). 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
^ Váradi Júlia (2005-02-03). "Csillapíthatatlan kíváncsiság". Magyar Narancs. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
^ El Kazovsky at artifacts.net

[1] "Elhunyt El Kazovszkij". HVG. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2017.

[2] "Against Interpretation. On the performance art of El Kazovsky and Tamás Király - artportal.hu". artportal.hu (in Hungarian). 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-04-21.

[3] Váradi Júlia (2005-02-03). "Csillapíthatatlan kíváncsiság". Magyar Narancs. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2008-07-21.

[4] El Kazovsky at artifacts.net

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