LUCA SARA ROZSA
Secrets
Curated by Domenico de Chirico
On the occasion of her first solo exhibition in Italy entitled 'Secrets', the young Hungarian artist Luca Sara Rozsa, born in 1990 - through this new cycle of unpublished works created for the occasion, through a skilful use of both oil on canvas and ink on paper - aims to plumb the complex and very delicate meaning of life, in relation to the nature of existence, where it is never unquestionably understood as the sole means of realising one's individuality. Aimed at all those arcane paths that smell of free will, swaying between cyclical temporalities and the so-called amor fati, as well as appealing to the so-called eternal cycle of life, Rozsa retraces the stages of both religious iconography and mythological symbolism in order to better understand, through an intimately personal yet perceptively innovative, profound and broad perspective, the natural sequence that perpetually marks the alternating rhythm of the seasons, corresponding to the phases of growth, decline and rebirth. In fact, this idea of eternal return suggests that the universe and all events related to it repeat themselves an infinite number of times. In fact, German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche uses this concept to address traditional notions of morality, inviting individuals to live their lives as if they could voluntarily and vividly repeat each moment for eternity. In doing so, one is faced with the possibility of fully embracing life itself, accepting both joyful and inauspicious experiences as both contribute to the full fulfilment of existence. Indeed, Nietzsche himself, in his book of aphorisms 'The Gaiety of Science' of 1882, following the linearity of time according to the past-present-future scheme, states that: "this life, as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live it again and again innumerable times, and there will never be anything new in it, but every pain and every pleasure and every thought and sigh, and every unspeakably small and great thing in your life will have to return to you, and all in the same sequence and succession - and so will this spider and this moonlight in the branches and so will this moment and myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is always being turned upside down again and you with it, speck of dust!". In this regard, one of the most famous images related to this axiom is found in the works of the Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius, traceable in his 'Thoughts', where he considered individuals as 'grains of dust', imperceptible and tiny particles scattered in the immensity of the universe. This perspective reflects the concept of equal authenticity and encourages the individual to recognise his own smallness in the face of the complex vastness of the universe. And it is on the basis of all these assumptions that Rozsa generates this very personal and vivid fresco, steeped in ancestral references and futuristic quirks, particularly muliebral, sometimes prissy, sometimes authentic, perfectly in harmony with the Apollonian and Dionysian spirit and balanced between western and eastern currents of thought. Here, fully immersed in the cyclical nature of life, to be understood as a space of eternal infinity, where the hic et nunc does not hesitate to merge amiably with nature, enigmatic figures bathe, embrace, feed or laze about, gradually taking on the appearance of marvellous mammals - caressed by omnipresent and notably verdant flora - whose faint, bewitching songs can be heard. In the artistic sphere, they are often present in symbolic and mythological representations, where they can be used to depict human qualities, emotional states or abstract concepts. In general, their presence reflects our deep connection with the animal kingdom and emphasises our ongoing fascination with its beauty, diversity and mystery. Well then, Rózsa's painting, which focuses particularly on human beings, invites us to lay down that mask that barely allows us to breathe so that we can finally show our face, thus leaving it free to scan the world around us as it appears. In this way, we can prove our love for ourselves, for others, for everything that life is made of, including nature, and for life itself. Thus, while Rozsa paints her idyllic sceneries, giving these mythological figures the faculty of being able to go further and further beyond the factual state of things, she exalts life, primarily understood as an energetic life force and spiritual phenomenon, beyond its material and biological aspect, thus becoming the messenger of an unprecedented and particularly intense form of vitalism. The figures in her paintings are mammals that have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge. Once expelled from Paradise, they are catapulted into the darkness of their destiny, sometimes facing it with resignation, sometimes fearlessly seeking its meaning. Oscillating between light, clarity, measure and form, and between night, intoxication and chaos, Rózsa's vigorous brushstrokes, moving away from truncated individualism, do nothing but generate a shared passion, saying yes to life. When she paints, she seeks a kind of iconicity, a freezing of time and space, something that suggests permanence, aware that this world, so highly dynamic, constantly active and exaggeratedly stimulating, leaves little room for silent secrets.
Probably, within this mystery lies the true purpose, the meaning of life and, more generally, its essence. Therefore, while some of the images in the exhibition a priori animate the basic state of knowledge of metaphysical space, others show the a posteriori state of the acquisition of knowledge itself, emphasising the topical moment of transformation. Moreover, a rather recurring element in her pictorial practice lies in the fact that certain images evoke certain topoi of Christian iconography. In fact, in 'Secrets', he consciously included references to the stories of the Baptism and the subsequent betrayal of Judas along with those linked to the Madonna of the Milk. Indeed, the rite of 'purification' on the banks of the river Jordan is the classic tale of transformation, Judas' betrayal - which reveals the secret of the Messiah's identity - is, par excellence, the emblematic tale of Christ's redemption, and Our Lady of the Milk is unquestionably an ancestral symbol, where the mother pours the energy of her life into her son, giving meaning even to her own life. Thus, from all these examples, in order to further emphasise the importance of creation, the history of evolution continues to show that each of us exists to ensure continuity of the Tree of Life, a symbol imbued with meaning which, in turn, despite continuing to be reinterpreted and adapted across generations and cultures, tirelessly maintains as its central theme to represent vitality, connection and universal wisdom. With 'Secrets', Luca Sára Rózsa suggests working on the physical evidence of our being in order to keep our image alive, as the permanence of the world and the temporality of our lives show such a great contrast that it is almost impossible to comprehend. Here, what is inferred is that the real difficulty lies in finding the right place. And so it is that the figures graciously stand before the boundless horizons of unexplored natural landscapes: well, all of them, each in their own way, have understood something eternal, since, as the Polish poet Wisława Szymborska phrased it in her poem 'Nothing twice': 'There is no day that returns, not two nights that are the same'.
Domenico de Chirico