Watering (2021), acrylic on canvas, 91 x 75 cm.

Gábor Király (b. 1979)
Central to Gábor’s practice is an experimental approach to painting that rarely involves conscious planning. Often abandoning then reworking images over long periods, his portrayal of human frailty and fallibility in raw, gestural brushstrokes echoes post-war neo-expressionist motifs. Gábor’s subjects are at once anonymous — he claims they are fictitious interpretations of real people — and seemingly alert to their individuality. Some are almost intimidating full-face, or half-length compositions cropped tightly to the extremities of the frame; others, in three-quarter view, suggest the intimacy or vulnerability of a self-portrait. Despite the idiosyncrasies and awkward poses, there is compassion too — he describes the works as subconscious impressions of social encounters.

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