Systems | East-West - Iosif Kiraly & Grey Crawford

Grey Crawford’s (born 1951) early 1970s photographs Transfigurations (1973/74) encapsulating himself in full-body black plastic bags were created to capture his performance. It was a period especially in Southern California, where performance moved away from the platform of an audience and into the photographic framing of the moment. Crawford’s experimentations with this type of format incorporated locations ranging from the Mojave Desert to infamous ceramic slip installations of Douglas Humble in his own home. These activities were intertwined with his other photographic bodies of work yet with hindsight, opened another chapter in the depth of Grey Crawford’s artistic career.

Iosif Király stands as one of Romania's most celebrated artists in the realm of photography, creating a legacy that intertwines perception, time, synchronicity, and memory. His diverse body of work spans photography, installation art, drawing, and recently, video, each medium meticulously crafted to explore the intricacies of human experience and societal transformation. His career began in the 1980s within the mail art network and flourished post-1989 with individual and subREAL group exhibitions. Király's notable projects, like D-Platform and RO-Archive, document post-communist Romania’s transformation. His works are part of esteemed collections worldwide, including The National Contemporary Art Museum in Bucharest, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin.

“Systems | East-West” aims to juxtapose Crawford’s and Király’s artistic explorations, highlighting how their works, though originating from vastly different contexts, converge in their conceptual frameworks. The exhibition seeks to illuminate the shared themes in their work, such as the interplay of time and space, the documentation of transient moments, and the deep reflection on personal and collective memory.

By bringing together these two artists, “Systems | East-West” not only showcases their individual work but also creates a space for dialogue about the broader cultural and political systems that shape artistic practice. The exhibition encourages viewers to reflect on how art can transcend boundaries and connect disparate experiences, emphasizing the power of visual language to bridge divides.