Distorted landscape V., 2019, 140x110 cm, oil on canvas.
Leviathan is the equivalent of a sea serpent in Hebrew (לִוְיָתָן, livjatan “wreathed, twisted in folds”, Tiberian Hebrew: liwyāṯān.) The mythical sea creature is depicted as a giant snake, dragon or crocodile. Over time, Leviathan became synonymous with any large monster. In the Old Testament it appears only in the poetic imagery and it embodies the powers of destruction, while according to the New Testament Leviathan is the embodiment of Antichrist that the Lord has to defeat.
Distorted landscape I., 2019, 110x140 cm, oil on canvas.
The paintings of the Leviathan series are landscapes, there is not a single beast in sight. However, these landscapes are distorted as if somebody or something had altered reality just so much that we feel put off and uncomfortable about our senses. This distortion of reality is Leviathan’s work. Leviathan is the invisible monster that does not let us notice the truth, that keeps growing until it blurs all of our senses. Leviathan is nothing but the world, our culture, the civilization we have built. It is the symbol of everything that is not tangible, that is invisible but still influences our days and decisions. Say its name, and your annoyance turns into hatred, your fear grows into terror. Leviathan is unstoppable because we created it and we cannot stop it anymore.
Distorted landscape III., 2019, 110x140 cm, oil on canvas.
All this notwithstanding, Leviathan was still created by God, the almighty that has a plan for creation. And, although sea serpents and Leviathan in particular are not always depicted as the Lord's enemies, still, based on the descriptions found in some apocrypha (e.g. the Book of Enoch) and the Revelations, it has become inscribed into our culture as the arch evil, the enemy of the Lord and their creatures. As such, it is part of the plan for creation that the Lord will destroy that which they created. They give rise to something evil, only to defeat it and serve its meat (along with that of Behemoth) as part of an eschatological feast to those sitting at God's table. It means that Leviathan was always made to be destroyed. What makes us feel put off and uncomfortable then? Is it the underlying presence of Leviathan? Or is it the biblically ancient dynamic of creating something (an enemy?) only to keep trying to destroy it?
Biography:
Despite his young age, Daniel Horvath (1980, Budapest) is a significant player in the contemporary Hungarian painting scene. Besides continuously developing his painting practice to break new ground, he also organizes exhibitions that provide fellow painters with opportunities to display their works. His experimental yet unique work is centered around the idea of presence, building upon the particularities of the artistic medium of painting. He was a recipient of the Eszterházy, Essl and Maticska Awards as well as the Derkovits Scholarship and the Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy in Rome.
The works of Daniel Horvath Dániel are both personal and abstract, characterized by a cold neutrality, a conceptual approach and honesty. His paintings often feature crossings of temporal planes, plays of memory and its projections, as well as the emtpy space, through which the viewer can access the painted world.
Further works by Daniel Horvath are available at https://horvathdaniel.com.
