In his drawings, Gabor Bata explores social alienation – and how it transforms us – through the visual language of cartooning. These works portray figures who have lost their humanity and have devolved into cartoons, where pleas for sincere connection are juxtaposed against grotesque, violent visages. In these compositions, a hypothetical world of all talkers and no listeners is shown. Characters attempt to communicate and connect with one another, but consistently fail to do so.
Despite them verging on caricature, Bata still hopes to evoke sincerity through materiality. The pastel finger wipes visible in works such as Hmm Nope. Still No Good express a paradoxical attraction-repulsion dynamic. The works are drawn with thick, crudely mixed oil pastels, but the colours are often seductive. These elements suggest depth and pathos to his characters and their world. This suggests they are still worth looking at and understanding, no matter how mutated and reprehensible they may be.
Gabor Bata is a Montreal-based artist. He is influenced by his experience with — and love of — film, animation, comics and design. He has exhibited his works throughout North America, including Montreal, Toronto and Oakland, and was awarded the Dale and Nick Tedeschi Studio Arts Fellowship. He recently participated in the 2022 edition of the Artch festival, and holds an MFA in Painting & Drawing from Concordia University.
