nextart galeria forms haunted lounge based on wes anderson cinematography

nextart galeria forms haunted lounge based on wes anderson cinematography
photo © casaba barbay, tamas dobos, and attila F. kovacs

for their second year of participating in budapest design week, nextart galeria wanted to break away from the typical ‘white cube’ gallery aesthetic. in order to do so, the curators cooperated with the two members of a+z design studio, zsuzsa megyesi and attila F. kovacs. the collaboration has led to ‘haunted lounge’, an extravagant exhibition space, where furnitures met with contemporary art. the works of the artists have been displayed in a way that helps people relate more to them, allowing them to imagine the pieces in their actual homes.

the walls are decorated with blood red drips
photo © casaba barbay, tamas dobos, and attila F. kovacs

the atmosphere replicates the cinematographic finesse of wes anderson’s movie ‘the grand budapest hotel’, but in a darker way. this theme originally came from attila f. kovács, as he wanted to counteract it with a minimalistic scandinavian style. for this display, a+z designed a candle-holder, two types of chairs, and a chandelier. the other furnitures were either from artcor, mobelkunst, or from the duo’s own collection of found treasures.

the gallery specially selected ominous works so they would match with the concept of the lounge. during ‘haunted lounge’ the following artists were featured: andrás braun, tamás dobos, lili K. fehéri, lászló andrás hatházi, dániel horváth, karolina nagy, géza szöllősi, and szabolcs szolnoki.

a display near the storefront
photo © casaba barbay, tamas dobos, and attila F. kovacs

an interactive lighting effect is provided by the ‘fire spinning wheel’ from a+z studio. the ferris wheel-like structure holds a series of candles around its perimeter. as force is exerted and the rotation beings, the wicks stay in an upright position, preventing wax from spilling on the floor below and dispersing its illumination throughout the surrounding space.

the wheel of candles
photo © designboom

near the storefront windows, a dark shelf was lit by a collection of glowing black orbs called ‘black suns’ by karolina nagy. their ominous, spherical surfaces are adorned with large white dots that permeate light through the construction.

‘black suns’ by karolina nagy
photo © designboom

a series of symmetric portraits by tamas dobos were hanged within solid black frames on several of the walls. their compositions make references to ghosts and spirits as as transparent layers of textures and limbs have been transposed over one another. although they replicate the human body, their precise geometries present a sense of unease to add to the evil ambiance.

portrait by tamás dobos
photo © designboom

physical bodies appear in the form of géza szöllősi’s ‘my pets’ collection. each piece represents a form of experimental taxidermy, as the artist has taken the practice and placed the skins on an unusual kind of shape. their features have been emphasized to great extents, as the fox has an elongated torso and the head of a wild boar has been inflated. ‘the hyperrealistic approach nevertheless mixes with the mythological, and the objects – used to be live animals – find themselves in absurd situations, causing them pain while being human toys,’ says szöllősi.

the ‘hollu’ lamp by a+z design studio has been placed in front of one of horváth’s paintings to compliment its scenery and color palette. its stabilizing ring houses a series of thin crow silhouettes that grasp tube lights with their beaks. the electrical wires are exposed, as they haphazardly dangle from the heart of the system and its chains.

‘hollu’ lamp by a+z design studio in front of a painting by dániel horváth
photo © casaba barbay, tamas dobos, and attila F. kovacs

following the eerie atmosphere, all of the walls were painted black, burgundy, and red (as a metaphor for dripping blood). the exception arose in the form of a special wallpaper created by géza szöllősi. ‘he really dug himself into conspiracy theories, specially into the story of the illuminati, which is about 13 families, who control the world. so géza created a design for each family, and was put together for the wallpaper. the same design was displayed on the pillows of the chairs.’