Exhibition

Dániel Bencs (1990, Budapest) is a visual artist. He graduated in 2018 from the painting department of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, where his mentors were Zsigmond Károlyi and Zoltán Ötvös. He is currently a student in the university’s DLA doctoral program, and his research focuses on the relationship between graffiti and ornamentation.

Through my paintings, I aim to draw attention to the movement of water, in which I see a metaphor for the flow of thoughts. Expanding upon the world of a previous exhibition, I seek to highlight the ancient conception of the model of our consciousness, which I have placed in a modern context based on my own experiences. Mental matter rises from the ocean into the clouds to fall as rain upon the garden of our spirit, bringing forth flowers to welcome the spring of awakening.

The artificial water sources depicted in my paintings suggest that a guiding hand sets the rain in motion, evoking the idea that, through the personification of natural phenomena, gave birth to our first gods. I, too, gladly take on the role of weary clouds during the occasional watering of my garden, and my observations regarding this have brought forth new shoots within me as well.

My favorite motif is the village’s blue well, which, as an idol of the source of wisdom, pours forth the truths of the deepest layers. Perhaps it conveys the secrets of the seas, just as the clouds, like sponges dipped into the ocean, wring out the sparkling drops of the depths. Submerging, we return to the chaotic state preceding creation, where matter has not yet taken form. Silence resounds. The brain coral sighing at the bottom of the sea evokes the labyrinth of my inner wanderings, ceaselessly expanding its maze. Down here, everyone just gasps, yet says so much. The fish dart about like tiny jewels on the endless blue stage; their dance sets waves of possibilities rolling toward the shores.

It is up to us what we bring to the surface, which will then faithfully follow us, just as the private storm follows the hapless character in cartoons.

As we let the heavenly blessing fall upon the garden of our spirit, the ceremony of the vegetation begins. The ritual starts with the drumming of raindrops, then the wind’s trumpeters encourage the leaves to dance, so that their life-affirming celebration may reach the trees towering over them like a temple. The cascade of melodies poured from the basin sometimes obscures the rhythm, the potential for which I see in the plant ornamentation. By highlighting a detail from the cacophony, we may more easily discover the musical aspiration within it.

The decorative patterns never completely break away from the nature that serves as their model, since they are rooted in the same place. Perhaps they even require water.

The highlights of the meadow ritual are the flowers, which I regard as the smile of the vegetation. In them, spiritual nourishment reaches its fullness; their flamboyant attitude transforms the event into a celebration. The petals open to the sky exude the scent of victory, just as when, standing at a concert, overflowing happiness lifts our hands high. At such times, immersed in the triumph of existence, we strive to fill as much space as possible with ourselves, so that our pose may resonate with the experience. After insects, flowers perhaps attract painters the most. Claude Monet speaks beautifully of this connection when he declares: “I think I owed it to the flowers to become a painter.”

At the end of the carnival, once silence has settled in, I try to gather my thoughts into a bouquet. The colorful trophies remind me of the dark fields my consciousness wandered through before finding them.

 

opening: May 7, 2026 | 6:00 PM | Opened by Dr. habil. Zoltán Ötvös DLA
on view: May 7 – September 4, 2026
opening hours: from Tuesday to Saturday | 13:00 – 18:00
address: Kahan Art Space Pest | 1072 Nagy Diófa Street 34.