/formatíva – Zsófia Antalka’s Solo Exhibition
2026. Mar. 20. - 2026. May. 24.
The solo exhibition of Zsófia Antalka, a young visual artist from Debrecen, titled /formativa, will be on view at the MODEM Project Space between March 20 and May 24, 2026. The exhibition focuses on the question of how form comes into being, and how process of creation becomes an artwork.
For years, the artist has been creating small and large bead curtains using a technique that evokes Pre–Industrial Revolution craft practices. Her earlier works were organized around a central symbol, exploring the contradictions between art and mass production, as well as the identity-forming physical characteristics and biological processes of womanhood.
What makes this exhibition special is that this time, the focus is not primarily on a thematic approach to physiological functions, but on the process of creation itself. The central piece of the exhibition is the work entitled Awareness (I-II), the second part of which is created in front of visitors as part of a performative installation, thus making those present not only observers but also direct participants in the creation of the work. The creation of the bead curtain is the result of a month and a half of intense work and heightened concentration, thus also reflecting the craftsmanship of pre-industrial revolution manufactories.
The spaces created on either side of Awareness reveal the creative processes: the numbered notes and sketch designs with color markings show the abstract and figurative phases of preparation, which are inseparable from each other.
Project Space will be converted into a workspace for the duration of the exhibition. The completed two-part work can also be interpreted as a model of identity formation: a process in which creative activity is gradually replaced by the finished work itself, and in which the work of art is transformed into a constantly changing performative act.
Curator: Marcell Hocza-Szabó