On Géza Németh’s Art
by József Román


Exhibition in the Sziget Gallery, Budapest, Hungary, 2001


If we were to give credence to the idea of the dualist categorization of art philosophy, we would find that Géza Németh’s exhibition faithfully represented both concepts. In the human intellect, the view of the world can manifest itself as the law, as absolute order; alternatively, it can also appear in the form of incomprehensible chaos and anarchy. Take, for example, the tragic transformation of a human face, almost turned into stone shaped by nature: a creature tormented by doubts, by its own environment, by the world – our own transformation from cradle to grave, our sufferings almost in the manner of Christ – but this time without the hope of redemption. Yet, the image compels us to repeat the question: “Where are we coming from? Who are we? Where are we going to?” Have we lost our way in the vastness of the universe? This could have been one of the possible interpretations of the series of paintings, if it had not been for Moses’ stern warning, which we are able to sense with all its gravity. His personality and his expression radiate the law that will lead mankind out of its present state of uncertainty. It was from the celestial spheres of nature, of God, that the COMMAND descended. The strict order that guarantees the peaceful coexistence of human society. The law of the order… Through such strange signs, Géza Németh’s art unites – synthesizes – the contradiction and the two philosophies of mankind and the universe. I only mention it in passing that the artist’s life, his civil profession, is characterized by the same apparent duality. As an architect and a constructor of buildings, he must obey the firm laws of physical matter, of the natural world. As an artist, however, he can let his creativity and imagination roam free. It is a different matter altogether that the flights of his imagination are dictated by a strict – although mysterious and hardly recognizable – order, external as well as internal. It is our good fortune that we are not under duress to discover these invisible laws ourselves, because the visual experiences themselves can reveal as well as conceal the secrets of all of us.

József Román