Sevan Szekely. Stamps

Sevan Szekely (b. 1988), lives and works in Cluj. He graduated from the National Arts University in Bucharest , Painting Department in 2010,and finished his MA at the Arts and Design University in Cluj Napoca in 2020. His latest project, ”Stamps” is an exploration of the nocturnal labirynth of the city. 

Stamps are traveling images, they represent  the payment confirmation assuring that the message will reach the recipient. For collectors, stamps offer imaginary journeys across the globe and beyond. Communication is perhaps the essential factor of the show. Between the works themselves, as well as with the space and the viewer.Hazard is the key element in Sevan’s body of work. He translates the city’s nightlife onto canvas. He finds inspiration in overheard conversations and random thoughts and found objects. The exhibition’s title stands for the conceptual dialogue the works have with the walls of the Bánnfy Palace. The paintings might look large in the studio, but once hanging in the exhibition they look like mere stamps. One could look at them as a stamp collection, each with its own sound but resonating together as a whole. 

The paintings are part of a bigger theme, the labirynth, the phisychal and spiritual journey, the evolution, the trip. Sevan combines elements of his personal life together with urban kitsch, nostalgia for times that passed of times that are yet to come. The images may originate in dreams, visions, intoxication and distorted memories. The painting process is highly intuitive and experimental, the creation being dictated by the never ending maze. 

The Painting style is somewhere between Surrealism, Epressionism and Art Brut. Sevan calls it Eastern Pop Surrealism,  similar to (American) Pop Surrealism, but with Eastern European influences. He promotes this style on his Instagram profiles @trashytransylvania and @sevan.ck