In 1955, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, two American psychologists, created the concept of "unknown unknowns" in an interpretation system called the Johari window, which is a technique for interpreting human relationships, both in terms of relationships with themselves and with those around them. The unknown often describes a place, situation, or something that we do not know or understand. Philosopher Charles Handy develops the theory of the two psychologists into a concept called the Johari House with four rooms, where the first room is rendered in a part of ourselves that we see and others see too, the second room contains aspects that others see in us, but we are not aware of; the third room represents the private space that is known to us, but we hide it from the others, and the fourth room is represented by the unconscious, unknown to ourselves nor others.
Throughout his creation, Zsolt Berszán probed and investigated the most abyssal pre-existing forms of the moment of the beginning, from which matter and existence were born. The artist is interested in that moment in time when conscious and the unconscious was not separated when the concept of human and animal did not yet occur. His large drawings, whether on canvas or paper, represent organic forms that emerge in unexpected situations. Biomorphic forms are stylized to the essence, becoming pure tissues or remains that are difficult to see. His paintings, often made of silicone, adhesive or oil painting, have multiple layers from which amorphous shapes arise, piercing the canvas and space.
The unknown is contained in Berszán's works, especially in terms of probing the unconscious in Julia Kristeva`s interpretation, whose theory on the notion of "abjection" is highlighted in the series of works from the exhibitions "Dissecting the Unknown" (2016), " Residuum "(2014)," ABLackJECTION "(2013). Imperceptibly fluid forms lie on the border between hallucination and obsession, where identity and order have been interrupted. It is a refined probe of an identity that is in dissolution.
Curator: Diana Dochia, PhD
