News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Steve Christensen
LUMA
312.915.6164
schris6@luc.edu

CHICAGO, February 3, 2011: The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) will open De Humanum: The Collages of Balint Zsako on Saturday, February 12. The works in this exhibition, created by New York-based contemporary artist Balint Zsako, are constructed from botanical prints and atlases of human anatomy. The exhibition will remain on view through Sunday, May 1, 2011. 

The intricate collages of skeletons and human body parts in the exhibition were sourced from the famous books of modern anatomy by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), Bernhard Siegfried Albinus (1697–1770), Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery (1797–1849), Leopoldo Marco Antonio Caldani (1725–1813), and Floriano Caldani (1772–1836).

The collages in the exhibition, which are commissioned by Chicagoan Richard Harris, convey themes of absurdity and humor, which are present in much of Zsako’s work. The images of anatomical and botanical elements have been literally cut out from their original contexts and reassembled in unusual and fantastic scenes. The images speak to the human experience of attempting to demystify death through the image of the human skeleton. Zsako uses humor while maintaining the scholarly context of the late-medieval Danse Macabre (Dance of Death; an allegory serving as a reminder that death unites all beings) through his incorporation of work by the human anatomists.

Zsako was born in 1979 in Budapest, Hungary. He received his BFA in photography from Ryerson University in Toronto. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and he has exhibited in New York, Toronto, and Hong Kong. In addition to the works of collage, such as those in LUMA’s exhibition, Zsako also creates paintings and illustrations.

Public Programs:

Opening Reception for De Humanum: The Collages of Balint Zsako
Friday, February 11, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
LUMA Members and Loyola Faculty, Staff, and Students: Free
Non-Members: $15

De Humanum: Meet the Artist
Saturday, February 12, 1:15 p.m.
LUMA Members and Loyola Faculty, Staff, and Students: Free
Non-Members: $4

Meet Balint Zsako, the artist whose work is featured in De Humanum. Learn how he has created an amazing body of work that incorporates botanical prints, along with human-anatomy images.

De Humanum: Meet the Collector
Tuesday, March 1, 6 p.m.
Free admission for everyone

Richard Harris has been collecting art since 1970 and has amassed more than 2,500 objects in four different collections. Join us for an evening in which Mr. Harris will discuss his relationship to the artist Balint Zsako, whose work is featured in De Humanum, and learn how they have collaborated over the past three years.

Please RSVP for these events by sending an e-mail to luma@luc.edu or by calling 312.915.7608. All events will be held at LUMA, 820 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.

Image Credits:

Albinus (Plants IV), Balint Zsako, 2009

About LUMA
Opened in 2005, the Loyola University Museum of Art is dedicated to exploring, promoting, and understanding art and artistic expression that illuminates the enduring spiritual questions of all cultures and societies. As a museum with an interest in education and educational programming, LUMA reflects the University’s Jesuit mission and is dedicated to helping people of all creeds explore the roots of their faith and spiritual quests. Located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus, the museum occupies the first three floors of the University’s historic Lewis Towers on Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. For more information, visit the museum’s website at LUC.edu/luma.

Art illuminating the spirit!

-LUMA-