Csontváry - In the Language of Photons

Join CODE’s digital art journey that engages all the senses, exploring the life and art of one of the most famous figures in Hungarian painting, Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka, into a unique, immersive experience.

Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka (1853–1919) is a superstar, unquestionably Hungary’s best-known and most beloved painter. His paintings, reproduced everywhere, have become deeply ingrained in the Hungarian collective consciousness, and his iconic works dominate every best-of list of Hungarian art. Yet his contemporaries largely dismissed him as a delusional eccentric, and it was not until half a century after his death that the wider public came to recognize him as a brilliant painter and one of the greatest figures in modern Hungarian visual art.

His popularity has only continued to grow ever since, yet his life and his artistic legacy, comprising fewer than 150 paintings, remain shrouded in secrets and mysteries. During his relatively brief career, he obsessively pursued what he called sun-path painting, exploring extraordinary effects of light – in other words, the language of photons.

This time, Csontváry’s works come to life not on canvas, but through an extraordinary audiovisual journey that offers a unique sensory experience. Told in the language of light and through the movement of photons, the exhibition unfolds across CODE’s various spaces, creating a distinctive visual and soundscape.

The Experience Corridor features a spectacular multimedia exhibition that traces the key stages of Csontváry’s life— from his childhood through his years as a pharmacist to his decision to become a painter. The animated images, interactive effects, and art-historical analyses, you can discover how a pharmacist became a visionary painter; how the artist’s worldview and inner universe took shape, and how the Csontváry myth emerged after his death.    

In this space, you can step into a floating, abstract universe where the metamorphosis of Csontváry’s colors, the power of his brushstrokes, and the lights hidden in his skies are transformed into an audiovisual poem. This three-dimensional contemporary work, which fills the entire space, and moving light forms, allows you to be not only a viewer but also a participant in the painter’s art.

In the 400-square-meter Hexagon space, a more than 20-minute, 360-degree immersive projection and surround sound, which brings Csontváry’s water landscapes to life. Based on the painter’s biography and his major works, you can follow his travels across five chapters—from Selmecbánya to Baalbek, from the silence of the Carpathians to the cedars of Lebanon. The paintings surround you; the colors, lights, and sounds tell stories. Works of art such as the view of Selmecbánya and The Lonely Cedar come to life here.

Artistic Directors: Andrea Sztojánovits, media artist; Tamás Zádor, media artist (Kiégő Izzók)

Biographical introduction and art history texts: Gábor Rieder, art historian

Composer: Gergely Álmos, musician and architect

Concept and Artistic Consultant: Can Togay, screenwriter, film director, media artist

Directors: Andrea Sztojánovits, Tamás Zádor (Glowing Bulbs)

Assistant Director: Krisztina Heckler (Glowing Bulbs)

Screenplay: Andrea Sztojánovits

Art History Consultant: Gábor Rieder

Sound: Gergely Álmos (composition), Gábor Vári (stereo pre-mix), Péter Halász and Gábor Halász (Sepia Sound Studio) (surround sound mixing)

Animation:
Kiégő Izzók: Tamás Zádor, Balázs Szőcs, Ferenc Hallgató, Eszter Papp, István Rittgasser; 
Dawn Animation: Bálint Benkovits, Máté Szigeti;;
Réka Polena, Marcell Andristyák, Luca Szabó, Iván Kovács, Andrea Sztojánovits

Graphics:
Gréta Straubinger, Eszter Szabó, Andrea Sztojánovits

The spoken texts are excerpted from the biographical essay on Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka.

Hungarian voice: Simon Szabó - actor, director

English voice: Patrick Mullowney - actor

Editing, translation: Hanna Tardos

Programming: Gáspár Hajdú

Contributors: Farkas Fülöp (Glowing Bulbs), Judit Bakonyi (Glowing Bulbs)

Institutions and owners lending reproductions:
Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest; Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs; Kieselbach Gallery (through an intermediary); Virág Judit Gallery and Auction House (via livestream); Herman Ottó Museum, Miskolc; private collectors