NEGOTIATIONS

The inspiration for our exhibition was offered by László Tóth's graphic series. A table is surrounded by monumental human figures. The characters of this decade-long recurring theme are depicted by the artist with an increasingly greater level of distortion: the characters sitting at the table are transformed, fall to pieces, their bodies resemble a baby or a machine, at times the flesh falls away from the skeletons that are still alive, their limbs fall apart, only a shapeless stub remains where their heads used to be. In his theatrical vision of people turning away from each other, Tóth depicts the halt of communication and the impossibility of negotiations. Inhumanity and war seem to be the only ways out of human inertia. 

In the art of László Tóth, painting and theatre had a mutually inspiring effect on one another. In 1976, he participated as a set designer in the production of András Sütő’s drama Star at the Stake, directed by György Harag. The play presents the religious dispute between former friends John Calvin and Michael Servetus, that degenerated into an abuse of power, leading to Servetus being burnt alive. 

László Tóth created several set designs for plays directed by Harag (László Csiki: Öreg ház / Old House, László Lőrinczi: A szerető / The Lover, Sándor Tomcsa: Műtét / Surgery). The very moods illustrated by Tóth in his drawings or paintings meant for the productions directed by Harag were brought to life as imagery by the director. 

The exhibition is a stage featuring László Tóth's graphic works, which alongside the recording of “Star at the Stake” renders the viewers to be witnesses to an eternal round of negotiations.